HushHush, Sweet DannyBook 2 Phantom's CrownSeries
by ghostwriter56
Summary: Can Vlad's latest plan work? Can he drive Danny insane?


Title: Hush…Hush, Sweet Danny

Author: Ghostwriter56

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: No I don't own Danny or Jack or Maddie or anyone else except my own characters…pity I couldn't come up with a show this good! They belong to Mr. Hartman and I thank him for letting us use them in our fan fics!

Synopsis: Can Vlad's latest plan for Danny succeed? Can he drive Danny crazy?

Chapter I

The rain was falling at a pelting pace as a cold gust of autumn wind swept about the two airborne combatants.

"Had enough kid? It must be past your bedtime by now!" the flowing woman's form challenged.

Danny grit his teeth, partially from anger, but more from the pain this new ghost was inflicting on him.

Diamond Lil had flown into Amity Park just two nights before and from their first encounter, Danny knew she was trouble. She was a ghost who had a taste for diamonds from which she drew her power, so stealing them from homes and shops was no problem for her, until she ran into Danny Phantom.

She hovered in front of him, her gaunt pale blue face sneering at the boy as another blast of air blew her vaporous sparkling evening gown about her legless form.

Danny's green eyes glowed angrily at the specter. He hated when a new ghost popped into town, more to challenge his authority in his hometown than to cause havoc.

"Lil, I'm warning you one last time, get outta my town!" Danny yelled over the wind with great anger. She laughed at his command.

"Come on and make me, boy!"

Danny blocked the pain from his mind and made a blind charge for the ghost. She blocked him with her diamond studded walking stick. He grabbed onto it and fought with her to get it away. He struggled to gain control of her power source, but three nights of constant battle had left his resources stretched and his body drained. In a weakened moment, Danny's right hand slipped off the staff and Lil was able to fling him to the flat rooftop of a nearby building. He lay there stunned and barely conscious as Lil hovered over him in triumph.

"The great Danny Phantom! What a joke you are! Hardly worth my time, let alone the effort!"

Danny slowly propped himself up on one elbow, his head spinning from the blow.

"I'm not finished…" he dropped back to the gravel roof, slipping into unconsciousness and changing back to Danny Fenton.

"I'd say you're finished, Danny. Be as smart boy and leave me alone or next time I'll finish you for good!" Lil smiled as she spun her staff and disappeared in a shower of diamond dust that spun around Danny as the wind whipped the rain about.

The icy rain brought him back to consciousness as he slowly sat up and gazed into the night sky. Growling at his own failure, he stood on shaky feet and once again changed back to Danny Phantom. He went to the edge of the building and sailed off, heading for home.

Across from the building Danny had ended up on, two figures were in a spacious office watching the battle unnoticed.

"Well, what do you think?" Vlad Plasmius asked, turning his back from the wall of glass. "Of course that ghost he was fighting is a special hybrid I created to test the boy out. A bit too strong for him, but it shows he has what it takes."

"Interesting indeed. A fourteen year old boy, half ghost, half human. He must be a mess inside that head of his." the other figure said studiously. He was a few inches taller than Plasmius, with a long angular face that said he was a man of education.

Except for the fact that he too, was a ghost.

"And that is exactly why I want you on this job!" Plasmius smiled. "Only the great Dr. Horace Wadsworth can do this job. There is no one else who knows more about teenage psychology then you. Your work on children was brilliant, if not unethical and questionable."

Wadsworth nodded.

"I did what I had to do in the name of Science. What are a few lives lost when so much was gained? I have no regrets, even though my actions cut short my promising career. So what you propose is a three step plan?"

"Exactly," Vlad reached into the recesses of his cape and pulled out a compact disk. "Everything I have on Daniel is on this disk. Likes, dislikes, school grades, every detail I could find out about him. You can look that over in the office here at your leisure." Vlad instructed as he floated to the front of the desk and leaned over it.

"Step one. I set up a situation at school that brings out the worst in the boy. I have that all in place and ready to go. Step two. I, being the concerned friend of the family, bring you in to council dear Daniel and you then do your job to tear him apart, make him think that he is mentally ill, that Danny Phantom is a figment of his imagination."

"I can do that, with the right medications and hypnosis, it won't be hard." Wadsworth said thoughtfully.

"Then comes Step Three in my master plan," Vlad smiled wolfishly. "We convince the Fentons that Daniel would be better off in a sanitarium, he being a danger to himself and possibly others and to get him away from the ghost influence causing all this trouble and while there, we finish the job by making that poor boy so paranoid that he's afraid of his own father!"

"A brilliant plan, but how am I to pass myself off for human? You said the boy has a ghost sense that goes off when he's around ghosts?"

"Easily taken care of." Vlad said opening the middle desk draw with a wave of his hand. Inside was a man's gold ring with a large cabochon ruby in the center. "That ring will make you appear as solid as any human when you wear it. No one, not even a ghost can tell what you really are."

Wadsworth took the ring and slipped it on his ring finger. He nodded his approval.

"It will take time to break him down with just my methods alone. Do you have any other tactics to speed up the process?"

"I do indeed!" Vlad produced a red glowing ball about the size of a ping-pong ball from deep within his cape. "This little item I call the Plasmius Dream Disrupter. I can send it to anyone I wish and it will hover over the victims head, then burst open, sending a very nasty nightmare into that person's mind that I have programmed. This one is the first of many I have made especially for Daniel to snap him from a peaceful sleep and start his day off in a rather cruel way."

Vlad waved his hand and the large window opened a few inches. He held the orb in the palm of his hand and gave it the instructions to move.

"Go and find Danny Fenton. Stay near him until 5:45. At that time, deploy."

The little ball hummed and sparkled as it jumped from Plasmius' gloved hand and took off into the night. Vlad waved the window closed with a self satisfying smile.

"It's good to be an evil genius. Poor Daniel, he will be so rattled by the time he gets to school that portion of my plan with go even smoother."

"Tell me Plasmius, you have gone to a great deal of time and expense over this boy. I know he is half ghost like yourself, but why spend so much for a child? What do you want from him?"

Vlad moved towards the windows and watched the rain pour out of the night sky.

"Jack Fenton in his stupidity took away everything I ever held dear. My old life, Maddie…I want him to pay for that. I want the mere mention of Jack Fenton's name to send the boy into a cold sweat and tremors of fear. When this is over and the court awards custody of the boy to me, I want him to be Daniel Masters, my son." Vlad took a deep breath, adding with darkest intent.

"I want him to call me Father."

Danny floated through his bedroom window and leaned against the wall as he let the warm circles of white light not only change him back to Danny Fenton, but dry his soaked body and clothes as well. He glanced at the clock next to his bed. It was nearly ten PM. He so badly wanted to go to bed, but glancing at his desk, he noticed the English book still opened where he'd left off hours ago.

"Oh man! Lancer's gonna kill me if I don't finish this chapter tonight!" he groaned as he dropped his battle weary body into the chair and began to read. It was only a few moments later that his head dropped onto the book and he was fast asleep.

"Jack, Danny said he was staying in to study tonight. What makes you think he left the house?" Maddie asked her husband as they stood outside Danny's room.

"I don't know, just got a feeling…" Jack said as he opened the door. They looked in and found Danny asleep at his desk.

"Oh Jack! Isn't that sweet? He fell asleep studying! Just like you use to do in college!" Maddie smiled as she entered the room. Jack went over and closed the tall windows that Danny had forgotten to close earlier in the evening.

"Poor little guy, he's beat! Let's get him to bed. I remember waking up like that, neck hurt for days!" Jack smiled as he scooped his slumbering son in his arms and took him to the bed where Maddie had it turned down.

She sat on the bed and removed his sneakers then tucked him in.

Danny rolled over on his side with a grunt of pain, still asleep.

"Oh Jack, that's so cute! He use to make that noise when he was a baby!" Maddie beamed as she got up and kissed him gently on the forehead and she and Jack quietly left the room, shutting out the lights behind them.

Chapter II

The Dream Disruptor found it's victim fast asleep and hovered by the alarm clock and waited.

At 5:45, fifteen minutes before the alarm was to go off, the device slowly floated up from it's resting place and hovered just inches over the boy's head. Silently, it burst into tiny shards of red that landed in the boy's long raven hair and on his face. The shards were absorbed by Danny's skin and hair and the spell made it's way into his brain where he had been having a rather pleasant dream.

The scene of summer with his friends was torn from his mind like a ragged movie screen as he felt himself tumbling out of control into a world of darkness. He felt himself fall on a hard surface and winced at the pain. Slowly, black wax candles began to flicker as he looked around.

"Sam? Tucker? What happened?" he asked as he got to his feet.

"This is not the place for the normal. It is a world for only the outsider." a cold, strange voice told him.

"Please, I don't belong here…." Danny said with fear rising in his voice. He stepped forward, peering through the dark mist rising about him to find a way out.

"You belong where all the misbegotten belong. You, the product of one man's insensitivity towards ghosts."

"It wasn't his fault!" Danny yelled into the darkness. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have gone into the portal. It's not Dad's fault I'm…"

"You are a misbegotten child of light and darkness. Danny Fenton has no place in either world. You are a mistake two times over. Once for being born of the flesh and once more for being born of the ghost." The works came cold and hard like lightning in the rain. He began to shake with fear he couldn't explain.

"My parents…they love me! They wanted me!"

"You are no more real than Danny Phantom!" the voice boomed through the darkness.

The space Danny was in suddenly became cold. He shivered as he balled his fists and called out,

"I'm Going Ghost!"

But nothing happened.

"There is no Danny Phantom, he is a product of a sick mind."

"I'm not crazy! I am Danny Phantom!" Danny screamed as the wind blew hard and whipped his hair in his eyes.

"You are nothing, misbegotten child of mist, child of nothing…" the voice repeated over and over, pounding in Danny's head as he fell to his knees.

"No! It's not true! I am real, I'm, I'm…what am I?" he sobbed as he fell to the cold floor and the candle light died.

"No!" Danny sat up in bed as his alarm went off. His trembling hand shut the infernal buzzer off and he dropped like a stone back onto the bed. His body was soaked with sweat and he felt as if his heart was about to leap from his chest.

Jazz burst into the room, her pink robe flowing behind her.

"Danny! Danny what's wrong? You look awful?" she said with deep concern as she sat on the edge of his bed. Danny looked at her with wild blue eyes and sat up and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Had a nightmare, Jazz it was horrible!" he shivered in her embrace.

"It's ok, it's gone. Must have been terrifying, Danny you're sweating all over! Go take a nice hot shower and relax. You wanna talk about it?"

"No, not right now." he said wearily as he got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. He turned to his sister with a weak smile.

"Thanks Jazz."

"It's gonna be fine Danny. Dreams can't hurt you." she said sweetly, but wondered what kind of dream could do that to her brother.

Danny seemed much better by the time he made it downstairs for breakfast. Jazz offered to drive him to school and he accepted gratefully.

"If you wanna talk about it…" Jazz offered as they parted ways in the school.

"Thanks Jazz, I'll let you know. Hey, get a load of that." Danny pointed across the parking lot to the limo that was pulled up in front of the school. They watched as a boy Danny's build and age got out. He had short red hair and pale gray eyes.

"Gee, wonder who that is?" Jazz muttered as she and Danny headed into the school and parted ways in the school foyer. Danny looked to his left and saw Sam and Tucker coming his way. His attention was focused on them as he felt an abrupt bump that sent him spilling to the floor. Looking up, he saw the new boy looking down on him with a sinister smile.

"Name's Jeremy Chancellor. Get use to it, Fenton you and I are gonna go bump in the night."

"Danny! What happened?" Sam said with alarm Danny rose to his feet to find Jeremy gone.

"Man, why'd you knock the new kid down like that? That's not your style." Tucker condoned with worry.

"What? Tuck, he knocked me down!" Danny argued as the first period bell rang.

"I've never seen you that angry, except when fighting ghosts." Sam muttered with concern.

"Guys, I didn't touch him, he knocked me down!" Danny protested.

"Nice job putting the new kid in his place, Fenton!" Dash smiled with a thumbs up as he passed by in the hall. Danny stopped cold and slammed his back up against the lockers in the hall.

"Am I going nuts here? You guys saw me hit him?"

"Forget it, we're gonna be late for class!" Sam urged, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him down the hall.

For Danny, it was the longest day of school in his life. Everywhere he turned, Jeremy seemed to be there, glaring at him as if he were the prey in a hunt. Danny knew that feeling all too well from his encounters with Skulker, but this wasn't a ghost, but there was something about him that although didn't make his ghost sense go off, made his mind ring out a warning.

Sitting in the booth at the Nasty Burger after school, he stared out the window at nothing while Sam and Tucker tried to talk to him.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't make last night…Danny? Are you alright?" Sam asked with concern.

"Yes, no….I don't know! I had a horrible nightmare early this morning before I woke up. Must've been from the last few nights with Diamond Lil." Danny groaned, still feeling a stitch of pain from his recent battles.

"I take it you didn't bag her." Tucker said quietly, sipping on a soda.

"No. She's tough. Only ghost tougher than her is Plasmius." Danny sighed as he took a sip from the chocolate shake in front of him.

"Wonder if there could be a connection?" Tucker offered.

"I haven't seen Vlad for a while. He's not the kind to let someone else kick my butt when he enjoys doing it himself."

"Yup, nothing says manly like pounding the stuffing out of a fourteen year old boy." Sam smiled. Tucker snickered and Danny managed a crack of a smile.

"We'll get her tonight." Tucker affirmed.

"Don't know if I can take another night of this. I gotta get some sleep and study time in. Unless she's on the news, I'm staying in tonight." Danny vowed as Jeremy walked up to the booth.

"So, this is where the losers go after school, how quaint."

"Look, Jeremy I don't know why you've got it in for me on your first day of school and all, but I'm really not worth the effort." Danny said quietly.

Jeremy bent down to whisper in Danny's ear.

"I'm here to drive you mad, Danny Fenton and I'm gonna do it."

Danny could feel the icy breath of the boy and knew he was a ghost, but how was he holding a human form? He looked up at Jeremy with a mixture of astonishment and fright as the boy took Danny's shake and dumped it on his head and walked away laughing.

"Danny! Why did you do that?" Sam cried out in shock.

"What! He dumped it on me!" Danny cringed as the cold ice cream dripped down his hair and all over his clothes.

"Man, you are unreal today! Why did you dump your drink on that kid when he just came by to say hello?" Tucker asked with equal shock.

Danny reached over and grabbed Tucker's hand and put it on his head where the ice cream was.

"Can't you feel that? I'm covered in chocolate!" Danny demanded hotly.

"Maybe you better stay in tonight dude. Get some rest. I think you've been overdoing it lately." Tucker cautioned his friend who stared back at him in disbelief.

"You mean, you saw me, me Danny Fenton, dump my shake on Jeremy? Not the other way around?"

"Yeah and it's not like you. What is wrong with you?" Sam asked sadly.

"I'm starting to ask myself the same question." Danny moaned.

Chapter III

The rain once again pounded down on Amity Park and seemed to make an especially loud noise on the tall window panes of his bedroom as he tried to study. The room was dark except for the desk lamp as he turned the page and took notes on his reading when his cell phone went off, making him jump. He fumbled it and managed to open it up with a shaky hand.

"Hello?"

"Danny, it's Sam. You gotta come quick!"

"What's wrong Sam?"

"It's that ghost, Diamond Lil, she's here at my house, stealing my mom's jewelry! Hurry…." the phone went dead. A sudden rush of panic swept over Danny as he jumped from his chair.

"Sorry Mr. Lancer, but this is more important. I'm Going Ghost!"

Danny changed in Danny Phantom in a flash and became intangible as he flew through the windows and into the night to do what he promised he wouldn't do tonight.

Fight another battle.

It was only moments when he reached Sam's house and went through her window to find her slumped next to her desk unconscious. He became tangible and scooped her up and put her on her bed.

"C'mon Sam, wake up!" he tried to revive her when her parents entered the room.

"Thurston! Another one and he's got Samantha!" Mrs. Manson shrieked.

"No, no! You don't understand! I…" Danny stammered as he backed away from Sam and towards the window only to look out onto the street to see the Fenton Ghost Assault RV pull up and his parents rush inside.

"Oh great!" he groaned "Family time!"

He instantly went intangible again and flew up through the roof just as Sam was coming around.

"Honey, did he hurt you?" Mrs. Manson worried, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Who? That ghost that took your jewelry?" she asked groggily just as the Fentons stormed in.

"Where's the ghost Thurston?" Jack demanded.

"Just disappeared! The woman ghost and the Ghost Boy!"

"Danny!" Sam gasped before she realized what she said aloud.

"Danny's at home studying dear!" Maddie said sweetly. "Must be that one with the black suit and the white hair. We got him this time, Jack!"

"Right, let's head back out and see what we can find!" Jack followed Maddie out of the house.

Above the home, Danny hovered looking about when a sharp blow came to the back of his head, sending him flying onto the roof of the Manson house. He focused his vision and saw Diamond Lil, floating above him with several diamond necklaces around her neck.

"Those belong to Mrs. Manson. Give them back!" Danny demanded as he got to his feet.

"You sure are a glutton for punishment, Danny. I'll give you that!" she said harshly, sending a glittering bolt from her staff that caught Danny square in the chest. It wound around his chest, glimmering like the diamonds on her gown.

"You can't catch me! What can you do, little ghost? You're a failure! A big fat zero! Useless to anyone and everyone!" she taunted, floating in a circle around him. "I'm surprised no one has caught you yet!"

"He's next after you, you shrieking shroud!" Jack Fenton yelled as Maddie fired off several shots from the Fenton Bazooka. One caught her and froze her for a moment before it sucked her back into the Ghost Zone.

Danny's bonds disappeared and so did he as he barely missed the next blast.

"Missed the little pastie again!" Maddie growled as Mrs. Manson's jewels fell to the ground about them.

Danny hovered by Sam's window where her parents still were with her before he shot off back home, feeling doubly defeated. He hadn't been able to stop Lil from hurting Sam and his parents caught her!

Slipping back into his room, he changed back to Danny Fenton and pounded his fist on the desk top.

"What is wrong with me? I must be loosing it!"

He slumped down on his bed and tried to focus back on his mistakes from the last three nights. His fingertips massaged his aching head, trying to push the pain away as a draining feeling overtook him. Closing his eyes, he thought just to rest for a moment, only to fall asleep. His sleep was deep enough not to hear his parents triumphantly come home with the news of the dispatching of Diamond Lil and how grateful the Manson's were, for a change. They looked in, wanting to tell him the story only to find him asleep again.

"Poor baby! He's been studying too hard." Maddie smiled as she once again tucked him in.

"I wanted to tell him about the ghost!" Jack moaned sadly.

"You can tell him in the morning. Let's leave him to sleep." Maddie took Jack by the arm and lead him from the room, closing the door behind her.

It was near midnight when the second Dream Disruptor entered the room. A loud boom of thunder seemed to herald it's ominous arrival as the window opened quietly. This time however, the orb did not park itself to wait until morning, but went directly to it's victim and silently exploded to be absorbed and do it's job.

Instead of the dark, cold space, Danny found himself in a brightly lit ballroom. The room sparkled with golden candlelight and mirrors on the walls. Waltz music filled the room along with dozens of couples dancing in fancy costumes from times gone by. He hung back, along the walls, feeling uneasy in his jeans and t-shirt. Despite the warmth of the room and the music, Danny felt frightened. He knew he shouldn't be here and tried to find a way out, walking along the walls, being ignored by all, except one tall figure dressed all in black with a white mask over his face. The black dressed figure put a gloved hand on his shoulder, but it was the voice he recognized from the previous night.

"You cannot run from where you do not belong. You must run to where you deserve to be."

"No, not you again! Let go of me!" Danny's heart raced as the stranger now grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the center of the ballroom. The man threw him to the finely parquet floor with it's swirling designs in wood. Danny looked down from where he landed and saw that the center floor was a large black heart with red lightning bolts coming from the center. He lifted his head a bit higher and looked at the party goers. All were wearing the same plain white mask as the man. They stood frozen, just staring at him as if he were a parasite of some kind.

"This child is born of a malady of mind," the man spoke in the icy voice again. The voice that made Danny tremble. "Misbegotten child of flesh and spirit. He is no man's child nor is he no ghost's child either. He is nothing but a madness sent to destroy us."

Somehow, the words tore at Danny's very heart and mind. Who could say such things?

"I am real! I am here!" Danny yelled as he tried to get to his feet, only to feel a cold metal rod push him back down onto his face.

"Sickness of the mind cannot be allowed to wander free. It must be locked away." the voice said impassionedly. "This is a sick child, a disturbed child who harms others for no reason. He thinks himself to be of spirit and light. He believes himself to be a ghost."

The dancers all started to laugh at this.

"I am a ghost! I'm part ghost! Stop laughing at me!" Danny cried out as his anger grew. Once before he had felt this burning. It was in the Ghost Zone, with Plasmius……

_Vlad put his hands on Danny's shoulders and Danny's eyes closed. He could feel the power inside welling up inside of himself. It was red hot and new._

_"Take the fear, the anger, everything you feel now. Remorse, loss, mourning, take it all and center it inside your heart." Vlad urged, feeling the power grow inside Danny._

_"So, this is what your are Daniel, raw emotion and power…amazing!"_

_"What do I do with this? I can't breath…" Danny strained, his body shaking with the growing power._

_Vlad stepped back, releasing his grasp on Danny._

_"Let go of it, Daniel. Just let it go."_

_Danny raised his arms and green flames shot from his hands high into the air about him. He let out an unearthly scream of mixed pleasure and fear as the fire circled about him._

_"He is truly everything I hoped he would be." Vlad muttered with a mix of delight and awe._

_The fire storm continued until it slowly died out and Danny dropped to his knees, his body completely spent. His eyes were half open as Vlad knelt next to him and wrapped an arm around his trembling shoulders._

_"That, Daniel is your first step towards true power."_

He had not dared use the Ghost Fire since that time. He could not control it well enough. It was a dangerous door that Plasmius had opened for him that night.

But he could not take the pain of laughter and mocking any longer.

Danny changed to his ghost form and shot up in the air above the dancers. They were quickly silenced as he opened the gate in his mind and allowed the green fire to materialize in his hands. With a scream of anger, the boy threw the fire to the floor, letting it engulf the dancers.

When the fire died, he lowered himself to the floor only to find ash blowing about. He dropped to one knee, covering his face with his hands.

"What have I done?"

"You have done what you were born to do, to rule and destroy." came the voice again from behind him.

Once again, Danny woke with a cold sweat and pounding head.

"No! I promised myself I wouldn't use that power until I was older and could control it." he whispered hoarsely in the darkness of his room.

He slowly got out of bed and went to the window and flung it open. The rain had softened and he looked out over the night sky. He made his way back to the bed and found his sneakers and slipped them on. Quietly, he made his way down the hall and to the back staircase that was the access to the room of the old brick house.

Danny stepped out on the roof and felt some relief as the soft rain washed away the fearful sweat that was sticking to him. He walked around the base of the huge machinery that his parents had built. Danny sat down onto the roof, leaning his back against one of the thick steel piers that held the machines aloft.

"Am I going crazy? Is it the ghost in me? What is happening to me?" he cried out into the lonely night sky. His growing despair gave way to sleep as he curled up against the pier.

It was just dawn when he felt a warm hand shaking him and heard his name.

"Danny? What are you doing up here? You're soaking wet! Mom and Dad will have a cow if they see you like this, come on now."

"Jazz? What, where am I?" Danny gasped as he looked around to find himself on the roof.

"Why did you come up here, and I want the truth." Jazz demanded helping her brother to his feet.

"Nightmare again, they upset me so…I'll be alright."

"I doubt that. I think we should talk to Mom and Dad and…"

"No! I'll deal with this myself!" Danny spoke sharply, taking his sister aback. He put up his hands in a gesture of apology. "Please Jazz, let me deal with this?"

Jazz took a deep breath and shook her head.

"I don't like it, but ok, but if you have one more episode like this, I'm going straight to Mom and Dad." she warned. He smiled and gave her a hug that she shrugged off.

"Danny! You're wet! Get downstairs and changed before Mom and Dad see you like this!" she ordered as Danny hurried down the stairs. Looking out over the early morning sky, Jazz took a deep breath.

"Danny, something is wrong. Why won't you let me help you?"

Chapter IV

Danny managed to get out of the house without much trouble from his parents. They had noticed how pale and worn he looked, but passed it off as too much study time. It made him feel even worse knowing he again had failed to finish his school work, but answering a call for help from Sam was more important. He figured that he could take the heat from Mr. Lancer for at least another day, now that Diamond Lil was gone back to the Ghost Zone. He hoped to have some time to rest and catch up.

He could not have be more wrong as his ordeal was only beginning.

It was noon and most of the school was out for lunch break. A warm day settled over Casper High after the night of cold rain and everyone seemed to soak in the sunny feeling in the fall air.

Everyone except Danny.

"I'm sorry I called, but I didn't know what else to do." Sam apologized over lunch at one of the tables outside the school.

"Sam, please. I'm glad you called. Don't ever apologize for calling me when you need help." Danny said with a faint blush.

"Well, maybe you can finally get some rest. Dude you look ragged!" Tucker said with cautious concern.

Danny nodded.

"Yeah, I need to catch up on not only homework but my sleep. I ended up on the roof last night in the rain. Thought Jazz was gonna blow the whistle on me, but she didn't."

"Well, well! Here you are again with your geeky friends. Fenton, you look like a train wreck! Been out all night with your girlfriend here?"

Jeremy's cold voice cut him like a knife. Danny didn't turn around as he spoke.

"Get lost Jeremy, I'm too tired to deal with you today, but I could possibly pencil you in for tomorrow."

Jeremy bent down and whispered coldly to Danny,

"Today is the day, Fenton. I got my orders. You're going down, now!"

With that, Jeremy grabbed Danny by the back of his shirt and pulled him from the table. He threw Danny to the ground and kicked him in the stomach.

"Danny no!" Sam and Tucker yelled as the other students around them gathered to watch the fight.

Danny rose slowly to his feet and saw the red glow in Jeremy's eyes.

"I knew you were a ghost." Danny said hardly above a whisper as he lunged for the boy only to have Jeremy grab him by the front of the shirt and punch his face.

"Danny! Stop it!" Sam cried out.

"Stop what?" Danny spun around to face her, only to have Jeremy club him in the back of the neck with both fists. Jeremy threw himself on top of Danny, pinning him down on the lawn, face down.

"They see it all backwards, Fenton. They see you beating me up! This is only the first step in the grand plan!"

"Huh?"

Jeremy hauled Danny to his feet.

"It's the beginning of the end for both Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom! Been nice knowing ya, kid!"

With that, Jeremy landed a blow to the side of Danny's head, sending him rolling to the ground, unconscious.

A cold sensation and a whiff of ammonia brought Danny back to his senses. He found the school nurse hovering over him, tending to the wounds he'd received.

"Danny, you're in a lot of trouble." she said seriously as she finished bandaging the cut on his face. It was then that Mr. Lancer entered the room, looking grimmer than he ever had.

"Danny, my office. Now."

Danny slowly sat up and pushed himself off the exam table and walked past Lancer, not daring to look at the vice-principal's face. They walked silently down the empty corridor to his office where he found not only his parents waiting, but Vlad Masters as well.

"What the…" was all Danny could get out as the door closed behind him and Lancer motioned for him to sit down.

"Danny, what in War And Peace has happened to you? What has brought on this brutish behavior?" Lancer demanded hotly.

"I, I, I didn't start it! It was Jeremy Chancellor, that new kid…" Danny began only to have Lancer stop him.

"Jeremy Chancellor has been taken to the hospital. You injured him very badly. Needless to say, his parents have taken him out of this school."

"He doesn't have any parents! He's a ghost! Someone sent him here to attack me!" Danny blurted out before he realized what he had said.

"The surveillance cameras outside the school caught the whole shocking event on tape." Lancer said, picking up a VHS tape and pushing it into the player in back of his desk. Everyone in the room was silent as the tape showed the opposite of what had happened. Danny beating Jeremy. It was only a few minutes and Lancer bent down and turned the machine off.

Jack and Maddie looked at their son with utter shock.

"I didn't do that! Something is wrong here! There's a ghost involved!" Danny protested.

"Danny! How could you make up such a story!" Maddie said with total disbelief.

"It's true! And I've got a pretty good idea who was behind it!" Danny said darkly, turning his attention to Vlad who returned his glare with innocent shock.

"Daniel! You think that I could do something like that? Me? Who loves you like a son?"

"Danny! Everyone in the school yard saw the fight along with the video. You started it!" Lancer accused.

"No!" Danny's voice now took on a tone of panic as he felt the room close in on him. "No, it was Jeremy! I've never started a fight in my life!"

Vlad smiled darkly.

"Mr. And Mrs. Fenton, I feel that Danny needs professional counseling. Now we have some fine therapists…"

"Mr. Lancer, if I may offer some assistance in this delicate matter?" Vlad offered. "Being a friend of the family and a man of considerable resources, I happen to know a psychiatrist who is the best in the field of child psychiatry. It will be no problem to bring him in to help poor little Daniel here. He happens to be with me on the way to a business trip but would gladly reschedule to help our boy here."

Danny rose slowly from his chair and backed away.

"No, no one you bring in! You're behind this whole plot! Jeremy said someone wanted to drive me mad and it's got to be you!"

"Danny, son! Stop this!" Jack ordered, grabbing Danny by the arm and pulling him close to his side, holding on tightly. "Vlad, that's a very generous offer."

"I think if Vlad can bring in the best, we should let him." Maddie agreed.

"No! Can't you see? You're playing right into his hands!" Danny panicked, looking around for some way to get out, but his father's grip was tight around his waist. "I'll go to any shrink, but not one he brings in! He wants to destroy me!"

"I suggest you take Danny home for a few days, get him to calm down and have a few sessions with his therapist before he returns to school. Mr. And Mrs. Fenton, I can't tell you how sorry I am about this whole incident. Danny has never caused trouble like this before, but I feel that we need to nip this in the bud before it escalates."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Danny cried out.

"Danny, lets go home," Jack said somberly. "Vlad, call us when you get something set up, and thanks again."

"I only want to help." Vlad grinned as the Fentons left the room. He left a few moments after they did with Mr. Lancer behind him.

"Danny's a very lucky boy to have a friend like you, Mr. Masters."

"I only hope we are in time to help the poor boy. I saw college students crack under less pressure." Vlad said, turning and shaking the teacher's hand then left the building. He slipped behind the wheel of his car and watched Danny get into the Fenton RV, looking more dejected than anyone he'd ever seen. He took his cell phone from his jacket pocket and punched a series of numbers.

"Dr. Wadsworth, the ball is rolling. I'll have Danny in your office by three this afternoon. You have everything you requested? Good. I'll see you then."

Vlad closed the phone and put it back into his pocket with a gratifying smile.

"No escape this time Daniel. No place to run, no place to hide. This is going to be fun!"

Chapter V

An hour later, Jack and Maddie got a call from Vlad. Dr. Wadsworth was very eager to see Danny that afternoon at three at the Amity Park Clinic where he and Vlad had staked Danny out a few nights earlier. Vlad had rented the empty office several months before, his plan was carefully executed to the smallest detail.

Danny didn't protest. He was too exhausted to fight as he sat in the empty waiting room. His parents flanked him on either side as he stared vacantly at the opposing wall. They exchanged worried glances over their son's sudden depression.

"Ah, Mr. And Mrs. Fenton! Such a pleasure to meet you. I am Dr. Horace Wadsworth. I'm sure Mr. Masters has told you about me?"

"Yes he did. He said you are the best in your field. I hope you can help Danny, I just don't know what's come over him…" Maddie let her voice trail off as she put an arm around her son's shoulder. Dr. Wadsworth bent down and looked at Danny.

"Well Danny, I think we should go in my office and have a little chat."

"About what? What Vlad Masters has in store for me this time? What are you going to do to me?" Danny challenged, as he rose to his feet.

"That's enough of that kind of talk, young man!" Jack warned.

"No, no, no Mr. Fenton! This is what I want to hear from him. We will never know what has triggered this until we get to the bottom of it. Now I'm going to be awhile, probably a couple of hours if you'd like to come back, say about five and pick him up?"

"We can't stay?" Maddie asked in a small voice of motherly concern.

"I need to be alone with him. No outside influences. Trust me, we'll have him on the mend in no time." Wadsworth smiled as he put his hands on Danny's shoulders and guided him into the office. He sat him down in a chair in a corner of the room and he sat in the one opposite. Wadsworth pushed a small button on a wood tone box on the table between them. Danny looked at him with curiosity.

"I record all my sessions, Danny. It's easier than taking notes. I understand you've been having problems with a boy at school, Jeremy is his name."

"I'm not the one having the problem, he starts the fights, but somehow everyone sees me as the aggressor. Someone is trying to drive me crazy." Danny said with a flat, but defiant tone.

"You've always been a good boy up to a few days ago. What brought this on? Why are you hating all of a sudden?"

"I don't hate anyone. I'm fine." Danny said as he stared out the large windows across the room.

"I see." Dr. Wadsworth got up and pulled the curtains shut. "We are not going to get anywhere if you cannot be honest with me. I would much rather you open up and talk honestly. Have you been having trouble sleeping? Are you having nightmares?"

Danny sat like a stone, closing himself off from Wadsworth's prodding. Wadsworth leaned back in his chair.

"I just want to help you, my boy. Believe me when I say that everything you say is said in confidence. Not even your parents will know what has been said."

"Silent as the tomb." Danny smirked.

"Interesting analogy, seeing how your parents are the worlds leading authorities on ghosts. I have an idea that all your problems are because of contact with these ghosts."

Danny's eyes darkened.

"I don't get involved with my parents research. I'm only in the lab when I need to do my chores." he lied. Inside, he hated to lie, but Danny Phantom had to be protected at all costs.

Wadsworth saw through the lie. He leaned forward, looking Danny square in the eye.

"Have you seen a ghost called Danny Phantom? I hear he's very active in Amity Park."

"No." Danny said with a shake of his head.

"I see. Danny, I don't have time to play these foolish games with you. We are an equal match, you and I and my employer expects results."

"What Vlad Masters wants and what I'm willing to give are two different things, Dr. Wadsworth. I know he's behind all this, and…"

Danny was cut off as a bolt of red energy wrapped itself around his chest, holding him down in the chair. Before he could react, Wadsworth was next to him, slipping a hypodermic needle in his right arm.

A rush of heat ran through his blood as he tried to focus his mind to Go Ghost, but the medication blocked his free thought. His vision blurred, but not before he saw Vlad Plasmius standing in back of the chair Wadsworth had been in moments before.

"Difficult to Go Ghost when you can't think straight, isn't it Daniel?"

Vlad smiled as he released the bonds that held Danny still. Danny tried to speak, but couldn't form the words he wanted to say. He was semi conscious as Dr. Wadsworth scooped him in his arms and carried him to the other side of the room and laid him down on the couch. He took a seat next to the couch and spoke gently.

"Now Danny, since I couldn't get you to talk to me willingly, let's let the medication loosen your tongue. What I put in you is part medication and part spell. You will tell me everything I want to know without any resistance. Now, lets start again, who is Danny Phantom?"

"I am." Danny's voice was small and soft.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? I want you to tell me how you became Danny Phantom."

"It was almost a year ago," Danny said slowly as his eyes closed. "Tucker, Sam and I were in the lab…."

"Dude, this thing is amazing!" Tucker grinned as he and Sam stood in front of the newly completed Fenton Ghost Portal.

"Dad based it on a prototype he built in college. Lot bigger though. Problem is, it doesn't work." Danny said with a touch of indifference. He had never been overly interested in his parents obsession with ghosts.

"I gotta take some pictures for my scrapbook." Sam said as she got her camera out. "Hey, put on your haz-mat suit Danny. It'll make a great shot for the yearbook."

"Oh no! Everyone at school thinks I'm nuts as it is!"

Sam picked up the white and black suit and tossed it to Danny.

"Promise, no yearbook. It's just for me."

"Alright, but…" Danny said warily as he pulled the suit on over his clothes while Sam snapped pictures.

"Hey, lets get a pic of you standing inside it. Real spacey kinda thing." Sam encouraged as Danny sighed.

"Ok, but we really shouldn't be horsing around down here. My parents would have a cow!"

Danny turned and walked into the portal. He found himself amazed by the complexity of the machine.

"This thing is incredible! Imagine if it worked, to make contact with the world of ghosts…" Danny marveled as he leaned and his hand hit a green switch.

A blaze of what seemed to be a million green lights flooded the portal. Danny was caught in the middle of the chaos as he screamed, not knowing that spectral radiation was penetrating his body, altering his DNA pattern.

"Tucker! Shut it off, shut it off!" Sam yelled, looking around frantically for the main switch.

"I don't know how!" he yelled, but found the main cut off circuit on the control panel. He tripped it and the green light died. They rushed into the machine to find Danny lying on his back unconscious.

"Let's get him out." Sam said as they both pulled him from the machine. When they got into the light of the lab, Sam and Tucker both gasped in horror.

"Sam! His hair! It's white!"

"His suit, it was white with black, now it's black with white? What happened in there?"

A groan came from Danny as they both huddled close to him as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh my…." Sam let the rest of her statement fall to silence as Danny slowly sat up.

"My head…what happened?"

"You turned the portal on my mistake, and that's not all." Tucker helped him slowly to his feet. "There's been a few other changes as well, dude."

"What are you talking about, Tucker? I'm fine. Feel a little shaky, but…why are you both looking at me like you've seen a ghost?"

"Uh, Danny? I think we're looking at one right now!" Sam spoke with a squeak in her voice. Danny followed her gaze to his feet which were gone and replaced by a flowing tail of mist. He gasped and his legs reappeared.

"You'd better take a good hard look in the mirror." Tucker warned as Danny went over to a glass plate in front of one of the machines. He gasped as he saw his reflection.

"My hair, it's white!"

"Funny, you're eyebrows are still black." Tucker said with an offhanded manner that earned him a punch in the arm from Sam.

"My eyes, they're green and glowing! What happened to me?" he asked fearfully as he disappeared, then reappeared.

"I don't know, it's pretty creepy." Sam swallowed with a shiver.

"Are you scared of me?" Danny asked cautiously.

"I, I don't know. This is just too weird!" she shook her head with frustration.

"Tuck, you scared too?" Danny challenged his oldest friend.

"Well, I am scared, but can't be any more scared than you, Danny."

"You're right, Tucker. Danny needs us. I'm sorry, I feel like a jerk." Sam said quietly. Danny reached out and took both friends by the hand.

"See, I'm still here, and I'm not going anyplace soon, I hope."

"We'll think of something. There's got to be an answer to this." Tucker pondered. "Though who knows what you can do now."

"That's great! How do I get back to me? Danny Fenton?"

"Maybe if you concentrate, think hard." Tucker offered.

Danny closed his eyes and focused on himself as Danny Fenton. He felt a band of warm light encircle him. When he opened his eyes, he was back to his normal self.

"Whew! Glad that's over…uh, guess it's not!" Danny groaned as he became invisible and sank into the floor. He managed to float back through the floor and become visible again.

"I gotta tell my parents, maybe they'll know what to do!" Danny turned to leave when Sam and Tucker grabbed him by the arms.

"Danny, you can't!" Sam urged.

"Dude, I know your folks. They're the ghost experts, remember?"

"Yeah, well they'll know what to do!" Danny said with renewed hope.

Tucker shook his head.

"Man, you folks will have you under a microscope! They'll poke and prod and put you in a cage or worse that stupid Fenton Thermos!"

"Oh man, Tuck you're right! My parents will make me into a Show and Tell for their next Ghost Hunters Symposium! What am I gonna do?"

Sam turned to Danny and took his hands in hers.

"Danny, this may seem terrible right now, but maybe some good can come out of it. You can use your powers for good! Helping people. You always say you want to do something meaningful with your life? Well maybe this is it? Maybe being a ghost boy is it?"

"Yeah! You can be a superhero! A real one! First we gotta think up a snappy name for you, something that will catch people's attention." Tucker went into high gear.

Danny laughed at his friends.

"Well hi there world! I'm Danny Phantom and this is Sam Manson my motivator and Tucker Foley my PR man! You guys are…"

"That's it!" Tucker said with excitement.

"What? What's it?" Danny wondered.

"You're name! You're secret identity! Danny Phantom! It's perfect!" Sam glowed.

Danny expelled a lungful of air as he turned and looked at his reflection in the glass again.

"Danny Fenton, mild mannered freshman nerd by day, Danny Phantom fearless crime fighting ghost by night." he thought for a moment then said with a grimace. " Maybe I'd better tell my parents!"

"Danny!" Tucker and Sam both pleaded.

"Alright, alright. Let's give it a month and see how it goes. See if I can figure out how these powers work since I don't come with an instruction manual!"

Dr. Wadsworth listened with rapt fascination at the tale Danny told.

"Amazing! I want you to go to sleep now, Danny. Rest peacefully in a deep sleep until I wake you."

Wadsworth turned to Plasmius.

"So, this is how it happened, an accident."

"Yes, same accident that happened to me twenty years ago. Except I was hit with just the prototype. It took much longer for my DNA to change. Daniel got the full dose all at once. Jack Fenton and his foolishness has ruined two lives. I want him to pay in full for those two lives." Vlad spoke with deep bitterness.

"You seem torn by your feelings for the boy, Plasmius. On the one hand you try to destroy him and on the other you want to love him and nurture him." Wadsworth wondered.

Vlad's tone softened as he spoke.

"Look at him. He's the son I should have had. Maddie and I, together. He was suppose to be mine and would have been but for Fate and Jack Fenton. He's more my son now than he'll ever be Jack's. Jack may be his physical father, but I will be father to his ghost."

"Why?"

"I want to rule the Ghost Zone. Bring order to the chaos, bring peace there. Daniel and I can do that. Our combined powers are more than a match for any ghost. He will be the heir apparent. I will make him a prince of that world. I can train him, I can teach him things he can't imagine! Those ghosts will bow down to my son."

"And what do you get from this? Sounds to me like you are giving him everything." Wadsworth asked with a wry smile.

Plasmius reached down and put his gloved hand on Danny's head.

"I get the son I deserve, the son I need and Jack Fenton is destroyed by this. My taking Daniel away will destroy his happy home and eventually I will have Maddie too. This plan is too perfect to fail."

"I hope for both our sakes it is." Wadsworth turned back to Danny and motioned for Plasmius to leave which he did by grabbing his cape and disappearing in a swirl of mist.

"Danny, listen to me very carefully. What you have heard and spoken here you will not remember. When asked, you will be vague with your answers. You will appear on the outside to be feeling better, but inside the torment will continue,"

"No…" Danny's small voice requested.

"I know child, I know. It won't be much longer and I promise you peace and rest when this is over, but for now it must continue. Now on the count of three you will awake and feel rested, but will not remember anything of this session. One, two, three."

"Huh? How did I get…" Danny gasped as he slowly opened his eyes.

"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dr. Wadsworth smiled warmly.

"I don't remember, wasn't I over there in the chair?"

"We've made sound progress today. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Danny slowly sat up as there was a knock at the door.

"Your parents must be here, it's nearly five." Dr. Wadsworth got up and went to let Jack and Maddie in.

"He's done very well. I managed to put him under hypnosis and he's starting to open up." Dr. Wadsworth went to his desk and took out a brown prescription bottle. "I have a medication I'd like you to give him. It's my own mix of botanicals and herbs. Perfectly harmless, but it should help him relax. Just one in the morning and one at bedtime. You'll do that for me, won't you Danny?" Dr. Wadsworth handed the bottle to Maddie and he put a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I guess so. Just wish I could remember…"

"Tomorrow at three then?" Dr. Wadsworth watched them as they left and smiled to himself.

"Perfectly harmless, if you're not part ghost, that is!"

Chapter VI

Danny was home for the evening. Sam and Tucker had stopped by to give him his homework assignments, but were rushed home by Maddie who said Danny needed rest.

It was near eight when Maddie stopped in his room.

"Going to bed so early?" she wondered with concern.

"I'm really tired. Haven't been sleeping well." he nodded to the glass of water and the blue and white capsule in her hands.

"This is the supplement Dr. Wadsworth wants you to take. He thinks it will help you calm down." Danny took the pill from his mother and washed it down with the water. She sat down on the edge of the bed after he slipped in.

"Danny, if you want to talk about all this, your father and I want to help you."

"I feel lost, like there's nothing for me to grab onto that's real. Mom, I'm scared. I don't wanna feel like this!" Danny sat up and fell into his mother's embrace.

"You're never alone! Don't even think that. Your father, Jazz and me we love you so much! Maybe a few days away from school and some rest along with the therapy will help." she smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Danny slipped back down into the bed with a yawn.

"Maybe…I'm just so tired."

"I know, sweetie, I know. Go to sleep and have a pleasant dream or two for a change." she sighed, stroking his dark hair as he fell asleep. She got up and met Jack at the door, she slipped by him, putting a finger to her lips as she closed the door quietly behind her.

"Poor thing, he's exhausted! Jack, I'm so worried about him! I've never seen Danny so…I don't know!"

"I know. We're doing everything we can. Maybe it's just one of those crazy teenage things kids go through these days." Jack wondered, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Danny's always been so grounded. Granted he's very shy and doesn't have a lot of friends, but why is this happening to him? That's what I want to know."

"Maybe it has something to do with ghosts…" Jack wondered as they headed down the hall.

Danny's sleep was restless. He tossed and turned and almost seemed agitated in sleep. Dr. Wadsworth knew children well and ghosts just as well. The medication in the caplet was an organic substance, but one that had an adverse affect on ghosts, making them jittery and uneasy. In Danny's human form, it made for difficult sleep, the one thing he needed more than anything else. To make matters worse, during the night, another Dream Disruptor came to pay a call.

This time instead of falling from a pleasant dream into a nightmare, Danny found himself dragged from a fitful sleep to a sleep he could not make himself wake from. The sensation of falling was frightening until he felt a hand reach out and grab his arm and pull him to what he supposed was safe ground.

He looked around and found himself in a room of cracked and scratched mirrors, even the floor was a mirror. The foreboding but familiar voice of his dream adversary echoed in the space.

"A broken mind is much like broken glass, unfixable. It is useless to anyone."

One of the panes of glass shattered. Danny dropped to the floor and shielded his face against the flying splinters.

"A misbegotten child is much like broken glass, unwanted. It serves no purpose."

Another pane of glass shattered.

"Why are you doing this to me! I've done nothing wrong!" Danny yelled with a mixture of anger and fear as he stayed huddled on the floor.

"You must be punished!" the voice boomed as several panes shattered at once.

"What have I done! I've done good with my ghost powers!"

"That is your crime, child."

Several more mirrors broke.

"Stop it! I can't stand this!" Danny was on the verge of tears as he lifted his head and looked about cautiously. All the mirrors were gone, except the one supporting him. He put his arms around himself, trying to stop trembling.

"I shouldn't be afraid, this is only a dream, it's only a dream…" he told himself over and over trying to convince himself.

"My dreams are your reality and my dream for you is madness!" the dark voice laughed as the glass floor shattered and Danny fell, screaming.

"NO! NO! Make it stop! Please make it stop!"

"Danny, please calm down!"

"Stay with him, I'll call Dr. Wadsworth."

"Dad, hold him down, he might hurt himself…."

Words were a fuzzy blur as Danny screamed in fear for several more minutes until Dr. Wadsworth arrived almost too promptly as if he were waiting for a call from the Fentons.

"Dr. Wadsworth, this afternoon you said you'd made progress, what happened?" Maddie demanded. Jack cradled his frightened son while the doctor examined him.

"Some nightmare triggered this response. It wasn't the medication I gave him, that should have had the opposite effect." he lied smoothly as he fished in his black bag and pulled out a small glass vial and a sealed hypodermic needle.

"I'm going to sedate him and I want to see him at nine in the morning instead of three." he instructed while he filled the needle.

"No, not that! He's trying to hurt me! They both want to hurt me!" Danny moaned.

"Son, please calm down. No one wants to hurt you, we only want to help you. Hush now, Danny." Jack tried to calm his son's fears, but was unable to.

"I can't sleep, he'll come again and say those things, awful things!"

"We'll talk about that in the morning, Danny. Now, just relax…" Dr. Wadsworth smiled as he motioned for Maddie to hold his arm out as he slipped the needle into a vein. A warm rush ran through his body and in a minute, Danny went totally limp in Jack's arms.

"I hate to do that, but he's in no condition to talk about these dreams."

"Who's been saying things? Someone in his dreams?" Jazz asked as she helped her father settle her brother back into bed. Wadsworth shook his head.

"I think he's saying these things to himself in the form of a dream persona. We'll find out tomorrow. For now, I don't want him to see anyone outside of his family. No friends, no one."

"But, Sam and Tucker are his closest friends, maybe they could help…" Jazz offered as Dr. Wadsworth closed his medical bag.

"No one is to see or speak to Danny until I say." he said almost too coldly, but recovered with a smile and reassurance for the frightened family.

"I'm sure we will soon get to the root of the problem. For now, he will sleep soundly and you should too. Don't you all loose a good nights sleep. He'll be fine. Tomorrow at nine?"

"Yes, we'll be there. Thank you for coming Dr. Wadsworth." Maddie sighed with the false reassurance he gave. Jack got up and walked the doctor to the door. Wadsworth could barely contain his delight at Jack's devastated gaze.

"Please, Dr. Wadsworth. Whatever you can do, he's my only son. That's a special thing to any man, especially me. I don't know what I would do if I lost him."

Wadsworth, patted Jack on the shoulder and smiled.

"Everything will be as it should, Mr. Fenton. I promise you that."

Chapter VII

"Maybe we'll have a few minutes to check in on Danny this morning before heading to school." Tucker wondered as he and Sam headed across the street to the Fenton home.

"He looked a little better last night when we dropped off his assignments, but there's something about this whole thing that's not right Tucker." Sam asserted as they went to the front door. Maddie answered the door, looking very tired.

"Hi Mrs. Fenton, we've come to see Danny before we go to school." Tucker said brightly.

"I'm sorry kids. Danny had a very bad episode last night. We had to call Dr. Wadsworth in and he's said no visitors at all. In fact he has an appointment this morning."

"But he seemed better last night!" Sam said with disbelief. Maddie put her hands on their shoulders and bent down.

"I know. Danny has taken a turn for the worse. He won't eat a thing. Dr. Wadsworth had to give him a shot to get him to sleep last night. I'll make sure Jazz keeps you informed. Danny is lucky to have such good friends. Say, maybe Jazz will give you a ride to school so you won't be late." she smiled.

"Jazz honey, Tucker and Sam are here. Could you give them a ride to school?" she called over her shoulder.

"Sure, tell them to wait in the car. I'll be right out." she called back.

"Please let us know about Danny the minute you hear anything." Sam asked quietly. Maddie nodded and closed the door. Sam and Tucker looked up and saw Danny staring vacantly out the window. They waved and he saw them and waved back, the empty look in his eyes hurt his friends deeply.

Jazz came out and saw Danny waving to them. She waved also and they went to the car.

"Jazz, this whole thing came on very suddenly. Don't you think that's odd?" Sam asked as Jazz drove along.

"Well, I don't know. There are lots of case of breakdowns coming on very quickly like Danny's." Jazz fretted.

"I'm gonna spend some time doing a bit of research on this Dr. Wadsworth fella. I got a bad feeling about this whole thing." Tucker intoned with resolve as they arrived at the school.

"You think someone is out to drive Danny crazy? But why?" Jazz asked with great concern.

"Jazz, I've known Danny since pre-school! There is no way he's flipping out like this on his own." Tucker said as Sam gave him a long look.

"Well, if I hear anything, I'll let you know." Jazz said as she got out of the car and walked slowly towards the school.

"You don't think Plasmius is behind this, do you?" Sam asked.

"Who else would have the resources to pull something like this off? We both know he wants Danny and his mom. What better way than to send poor Danny off his rocker. Marriages have broken up over less."

"But, not Danny's folks! They're solid a rock!" Sam argued.

"Yeah, well the best of rocks have cracks. If I'm right, I'm afraid we're gonna have to mount a big old rescue mission this time around." Tucker said grimly.

Jack and Maddie arrived at Dr. Wadsworth's office promptly at nine. Wadsworth shooed them off and took Danny into his office and sat him down in the same seat he'd been in the previous afternoon.

"Well Danny, you gave us all quite a scare last night. Can you tell me who is in your dreams that scares you?"

"I never see the face, only the voice." Danny spoke flatly, the usual musical lilt of his voice gone. "He tells me….I don't want to think about it!"

Danny turned away from Dr. Wadsworth. He rubbed his forehead as if in pain.

"Does this voice tell you bad things about yourself? Tell you that you are unloved and unwanted?"

"Misbegotten seems to be his favorite word…how did you know?" Danny turned slowly back to Wadsworth who smiled warmly.

"Danny, these things are very common for children from troubled homes. You are telling yourself these things, no one is saying them, but somehow you are picking up these feelings from your father, I'm afraid."

Danny closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.

"No, that's not true! My father loves me!"

Danny took a ragged breath and leaned back into the chair as if totally exhausted.

"It is your father's obsession with ghosts that keeps you apart. You will never be truly loved by him due to this. That and your own ghost obsession."

Danny looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Danny, yesterday under hypnosis you told me that you were a ghost, well part ghost, someone called Danny Phantom."

Danny put a hand to his mouth, the utter shock registered in his eyes.

"Don't be alarmed, my child! I'm not surprised that you have this fantasy life. It's quite common for young people in your state of mind to invent alter egos to escape the everyday life." Wadsworth reached out and patted Danny on the knee in a gesture of reassurance as he reached with his free hand and pulled a cut crystal disk about the size of a quarter from his jacket pocket. It hung on a silver chain as the lights dimmed in the room on their own. He spun it slowly directly in front of Danny's eyes.

"Danny, it's time we find out the truth."

"No, not again. I just want to be left alone…" Danny pleaded.

Dr. Wadsworth voice was deep and soothing as he spun the crystal.

"You can never be alone. You may hurt yourself or someone you love. We can't let that happen, can we? No, I didn't think so. Just let your eyes follow the light. Let the light penetrate you, relax you. You want to sleep now, but first we have some business to take care of."

Wadsworth scooped the pendant in his hand with a swift jerk. Danny was slumped over in the chair, completely at the mercy of Wadsworth again.

"Danny, you are now going to do as I tell you, with no protest. You are free from the fear, for the moment. I want you to change into Danny Phantom for me. How do you do that?"

"I say, I'm Going Ghost, I think about it and it happens." he replied in a whisper.

Dr. Wadsworth smiled with satisfaction.

"Now, let's see if these two entities are linked. Danny, I want you to stand up and change into Danny Phantom."

Slowly rising, Danny clenched his fists and commanded the change with an authoritative voice.

"I'm Going Ghost!"

The circle of light encased him, changing him to Danny Phantom.

He opened his eyes and looked around with confusion.

"Where am I? What's happening?"

"Very good Danny, very good indeed! Amazing transformation!" Dr. Wadsworth approved as he stood and slipped off the ruby ring that held him in a physical form. His body snapped away like a firecracker and he became the malevolent ghost he truly was.

"What do you do when you see a ghost, Danny?" he snapped harshly, letting his transparent hand brush against the boy's skin. Danny shook from the contact.

"I catch the ghost and send it back to the Ghost Zone."

"Hmmmm, very interesting indeed. You deem yourself judge, jury and executioner. Give yourself the authority?"

"Walker said that once to me, I'm not like that. I do it to save people." Danny said with growing uncertainty. Wadsworth floated around to put his ghostly hands on Danny's shoulders. He whispered in Danny's ear, sending a chill through his being.

"You are nothing! You have no authority over me or my kind!"

Danny growled as he lifted his hands to grab the specter only to have his wrists grabbed and held tightly by Plasmius as he lifted the boy in the air.

"Uh, uh, uh! No hitting the good doctor! Can't have that now, can we?" Plasmius smiled darkly as he threw Danny back into the chair. The shock sent him back into the form of Danny Fenton. Wadsworth quickly put the ring back on and became solid again as Plasmius became Masters and took a seat by the windows in the shadows of the room. A small groan came from Danny as he slowly opened his eyes, but still under Wadsworth's influence.

"Now we plant the block." Wadsworth said to Vlad before turning to Danny. "Danny, you will not remember how to turn into Danny Phantom from this time until I tell you."

"No, you can't…." Danny tried to fight the strong influence this ghost had over his weakened mind.

"Don't fight me boy. I have an arsenal of methods to make you bend to my will and many of them are very painful for a young ghost or human. Listen to me and obey me. You will not remember how to change into Danny Phantom. You may remember the power you had, but not how to use it."

"You can't….." Danny was cut off by a powerful surge of pain coming from Wadsworth's hands that raced through the boy's body.

"It will be worse the next time you say no and continue to worsen. Pain is not good Danny. Act Two of our little drama is about to come to it's climax and I want you ready and willing to play your part. Now, again I tell you that you will not remember how to become Danny Phantom. Only when I tell you the phrase, "Danny you may Go Ghost" will you remember how do become Danny Phantom again. Until that time, you will have no powers, they will be locked away in your subconscious. Now do you understand?"

"Yes." Danny said with total defeat in his voice.

Wadsworth smiled at Vlad.

"We are ready to finish this phase. Do you have the ambulance standing by?"

"Oh indeed. All the paperwork is done and they're waiting at Wren Cliff for us to arrive any time now."

"Then let's finish this play." Wadsworth turned his attention back to Danny.

"Danny, are you alright? You passed out." Dr. Wadsworth reassured as Danny suddenly became wide eyed. A knock came at the door and Vlad answered letting the Fentons in.

"It's good of you to be so concerned Vlad. We don't want you to miss your business because of our problems." Jack said gratefully. Vlad smiled and patted Jack on the shoulder.

"Making more money can wait. I'm afraid things are not going well with young Daniel." he said with mock sympathy. Danny spun around in the chair and seemed wild as he spoke.

"You gotta get me out of here! They're both trying to hurt me!"

"No Danny, we're trying to help you…" Dr. Wadsworth reached out only to have his hand slapped away by the teen.

"Danny! Stop this at once!" Jack ordered.

"No! You gotta listen to me!" Danny jumped out of the chair and backed away from everyone, gesturing wildly as he rattled. "They're trying to make me crazy! I don't know why! They're causing the dreams and everything! I am a ghost! Mom, Dad…I didn't want to tell you, but the accident in the lab months ago? It caused a change in my DNA and now I'm half ghost. I'm Danny Phantom, the Ghost Boy? It's me!"

Jack and Maddie exchanged very troubled looks.Dr. Wadsworth went to them and spoke in a low voice.

"I'm sorry. Your son is experiencing a schizophrenic episode. He thinks he's a ghost."

"Danny!" Maddie cried out in fear.

"It's true! I've been hiding it from all of you! I'll show you!" Danny stood and balled his fists. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the command he used to make himself change into Danny Phantom, but couldn't. "No, I can't remember? How could I forget? I am part ghost! The Fenton Portal changed me! Don't you believe me?"

Jack took a step towards his son.

"Son, I don't know what to tell you."

"It's your fault!" Danny snapped with anger, his eyes welling up with tears. "If you weren't so preoccupied with ghosts this never would have happened to me! The voice was right, no one loves me, I'm no good to anyone!"

Danny slid to his knees. The tears he had been holding back flowed like a river down his face. His body trembled as his mind spun out of control.

"No! Danny no!" Maddie pushed past Dr. Wadsworth and knelt down next to her son, cradling him in her arms.

"Hush Danny, please hush now. It's gonna be alright. We'll take you home. You need rest sweetie."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Fenton, but Danny needs to go away for awhile." Dr. Wadsworth said somberly. Jack and Maddie looked at him as if he were crazy.

"My son is going home. He just needs quiet and rest." Jack said, trying to brush past the cutting words Danny had unleashed on him. Vlad went to Jack and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jack, you're my oldest and dearest friend. Daniel is disturbed and needs professional help. I'm on the Board of Directors of the Wren Cliff Sanatorium in Bayview. I've made arrangements for Daniel to be taken there for further treatment."

"Bayview is a hundred miles from here, Vlad! Can't Danny stay at the local hospital?" Jack asked.

"Jack, he needs to get away from the ghost influence of your home until he's stable enough to face it again. It breaks my heart to hear him talk to you like that." Vlad lied.

"Going where?" Danny gasped through his tearful fit.

"Danny, we're taking you to Wren Cliff. It's a hospital for people with emotional problems like you. We can give you the care you need. Now lets get you up…" Dr. Wadsworth went over only to have Danny lash out at him, his blue eyes burning with anger and he knocked the doctor onto the desk.

"No! I'm not going! You did this to me! You sent that Jeremy kid who started this!" Danny raised his fist only to have Jack reach across the desk and grab Danny's arm in time to stay the blow. Jack lumbered around the desk and grabbed his son, holding him as he dropped to the floor again.

"I'm nothing! I don't even exist, my ghost is gone…where am I?" he asked in a weary voice as Jack let go of him.

"I'm sorry Danny." he whispered.

Dr. Wadsworth reached into his desk and pulled out a pre-filled sealed hypodermic needle.

"I'm sorry, but the boy needs to be sedated for the trip by ambulance."

"Can't we take him there? We need more time…" Maddie pleaded.

"There's nothing else that can be done. It's my expert opinion the boy needs to be committed. The paperwork has been filed with the courts for the sanitarium to have temporary custody of Danny until he is well again."

"NO! You can't do this to me! I won't let you!" Danny tried to rise again, but Vlad stepped in and held Danny down while Dr. Wadsworth administered the injection. He stepped away and picked up the phone to call for the attendants to come.

Danny felt his mind spinning once more as he looked up at his parents kneeling next to him.

"Don't let them….please? I'll be good, I promise…I won't….can't remember how to….ghost? Danny slipped into a deep sleep as the two attendants entered the office with the gurney. Jack and Maddie stepped aside in shock as they watched their only son being strapped down and wheeled out of the office. The Fentons started after Danny only to be stopped by Dr. Wadsworth.

"I'm sorry, but I must insist that you not visit for a few days, at least until my staff can get him stabilized."

"He's our son! We can't abandon him!" Jack pleaded.

"Jack, I'll go with Daniel. At least there will be someone there he knows." Vlad offered as he left the office.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Dr. Wadsworth." Maddie sniffed as she and Jack rushed out of the office to catch up with Masters.

Dr. Wadsworth smiled malevolently.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Fenton. I do know what I'm doing. Pity you don't."

In the main lobby of the medical building, people were mulling about waiting for appointments. Kwan was sitting with his father for a check on a football injury he'd received at the last game when he saw the Fentons rushing beside the gurney that carried their son.

"Danny Fenton?" he gasped as he got up and followed to watch the attendants put Danny in the ambulance and Vlad Masters jump in the back.

"Don't worry, I'll be in touch as soon as we arrive."

The ambulance door slammed shut and took off quietly.

"Oh Jack! Our baby's gone! What'll we do?"

"Mrs. Fenton, what's going on? Was that Danny? Is he hurt?" Kwan asked with genuine concern.

"Danny's going away for awhile Kwan. He's not well." Jack said wearily.

"I heard the ambulance driver say Wren Cliff. Is Danny going to the nut house?" Kwan asked, only to have his father come out and cuff him on the back of the head.

"Kwan, that's no way to speak! I'm sorry about your son. I've heard about all the trouble at school. He seemed to be such a quiet boy. I hope it all comes out well for you." Kwan's father said sincerely as he shooed his son back into the building.

Jack and Maddie walked slowly towards the Fenton RV.

Kwan got away from his father for a few moments in the men's room and punched up a number on his cell phone.

"Dash? It's Kwan, man you are not gonna believe this! They took Danny Fenton away in an ambulance…no not to the local hospital, get this…he's headed to Wren Cliff! Yeah the nut house. Guess the kid's gone, real gone!"

Chapter VIII

By lunchtime Dash had spread the word about Danny throughout Casper High. The only ones who hadn't heard were Jazz, Sam and Tucker.

"Jazz! Have you heard anything about Danny yet?" Sam asked waving Jazz down during lunch.

"No, I guess things must be ok, they would have called or come by the school otherwise. I'm still worried though, do you really think there's something going on with Danny?" she asked sitting down at their table when Dash came by.

"I though you'd left school by now Jazz, or are your folks ashamed to show up here?"

"What are you talking about Dash?" Jazz asked with growing irritation at the jock.

"Your brother? The walking fruit loop? Kwan saw him being hauled off in an ambulance this morning from the clinic. Said he was going to Wren Cliff, the nut house! Hate to admit it, but I'm gonna miss the little dork, guess I'll have to pound on Foley more to make up for it!"

"How can you say such a thing! He's my brother! You big ape!" Jazz cried as she got up to leave, only to have Mr. Lancer stop her. He gave Baxter a cold look.

"Dash, there are more tactful ways to tell people news than to call a fellow student a walking fruit loop! Jazz, your parents are here." he said quietly to her.

"They have Danny with them, don't they?" she asked hopefully as Sam and Tucker hung on every word.

"You'd better come to my office, it's private there. Mr. Foley, Miss Manson, the Fentons would like you to come too."

"It's hard to believe this is happening. Danny wasn't the brightest student, but he seemed normal enough, well for a fourteen year old." Lancer said quietly sitting behind the desk of his office.

"Stop talking about him like he's dead! He's not dead and he's not sick! Someone or something is doing this to him and we're gonna find out who and why!" Sam said wiping the tears from her face.

"We can't even go see him? But he need us now more than ever!" Tucker protested the order from Dr. Wadsworth about visitors.

"I can't image Danny being violent, attacking someone like that! Did he have to sedate him?" Jazz sniffed, wiping her eyes over the news of her brother.

"Honey, we're all upset. I'm sure Danny's in the best care he can get. Vlad Masters is on the Board of Directors at Wren Cliff. It's a very exclusive…" Maddie said

"Nut house? I don't care what they call it, a sanitarium or what, it's a nut house and my boy's lock up there!" Tucker struck out with an angry voice.

"I think it would be best if the children go home for the day. Would you mind taking them home?" Lancer asked Jack and Maddie.

"It's no problem."

"My car is here, I can drive it home and take Tucker and Sam home too." Jazz offered.

"I'll be home a bit later Mom, Dad. There's something I need to check out at the library." Jazz said as she got up to leave and motioned for Sam and Tucker to come with her.

"Honey, your homework can wait…" Maddie said as Jazz left.

"It's not homework, at least not for school. I think Tucker is right about Danny being attacked by ghosts, we just need to do some research on this Dr. Wadsworth first." Jazz said firmly.

Most of the afternoon the trio spent at the Amity Park Public Library, trying to find out who Dr. Horace Wadsworth was.

"He's not listed in current American Medical Association records, this is too weird." Sam sighed as she sat down next to Tucker who wasn't having much luck himself.

"There's got to be something! Somewhere he's got to exist!" Tucker pounded his fist on the desk with growing frustration just as Jazz hurried up to their desk, clutching a worn dusty book.

"I found him! The last place I though I would ever look, but I found him!" she crowed putting the book down on the table.

"Miscreants of Medicine, Ghosts of the Medical Field . He's in there?" Sam asked as Jazz flipped the book open to the page she had marked with a scrap of paper from her school notebook.

"Right here! 'Dr. Horace Wadsworth 1928-1966. One of the most diabolical minds in psychiatric medicine, Wadsworth specialized in teen therapy, using untested and dangerous medications on his unsuspecting victims. Five teens died under his care'……look here's a list of names, Jeremy Chancellor! That's how he's involved!"

"But how are he and Wadsworth keeping a solid form?" Sam wondered.

"Bet you a Nasty Burger Deluxe that Vlad Masters has something to do with this." Tucker intoned darkly.

"Why would Vlad Masters want to hurt my brother? What can be gained?"

Tucker and Sam exchanged painful looks. Sam motioned for Jazz to sit down.

"Jazz, Danny didn't want you to know, but Vlad Masters wants your Mom to leave your Dad and she and Danny go live with him."

"Why? I mean I know he liked her in college, but that was years ago!" Jazz shook her head as if trying to keep the news away.

Sam took a deep breath.

"Vlad Masters hates your Dad for what happened at college. You know the accident he had with the prototype portal? Well, he was planning on making a move on your Mom when it happened and with Vlad out of they way, things took their natural course and your folks got married and lived happily ever after, at least until now."

"Whoa, wait a minute! You're telling me that Vlad Masters is deliberately driving my brother crazy to get closer to my Mom? That doesn't make sense!"

"Yes it does!" Tucker came into the conversation with resolve in his voice. "Jazz, think about it for a moment. Danny locked away in a mental institution? Someone has to take the blame, so your folks will blame each other and that will lead to their split up! I know kids who's parents broke up over using the wrong fork at a dinner party!"  
"No Tucker! My parents wouldn't…" Jazz felt herself sinking.

"I'm not trying to scare you Jazz, just feed you the facts. One way or another Vlad Masters is gonna get custody of Danny, that's what he wants. He wants the son he thinks your Dad took from him, the son he never had!"

Realization flashed in Jazz's eyes.

"He could do it! If Danny feels threatened at home, he would be made a ward of the Courts and then Vlad Masters could slide in, offer the best of the best, probably grease some palms and…"

"Bye Bye Danny!" Sam grumbled, giving Tucker a long hard look, as they both knew the real reason Vlad wanted Danny.

"This is worse than I though, we need more evidence." Jazz tapped the cover of the book she'd brought to the table.

"Let's go back to the beginning of this," Tucker leaned over the table as the girls huddled with him. "It started at school, the fight? Now I know Lancer has the VHS tape in his office. If we can take a look at that, we might be able to figure out why everyone saw something different than Danny did."

"Fat chance Lancer's gonna hand the tape over to us!" Sam sighed. Tucker smile that mischievous smile he and Danny reserved for a good trick on someone.

"Who said anything about asking him?"

"Tucker Foley, I can't believe we're doing this! If we get caught…" Sam worried as Jazz pulled her car up to the curb about a block from Casper High.

"If we stay cool, nothing will go wrong. We're just gonna slip into Lancer's office and check that tape out. C'mon let's get going." Tucker got out of the car and motioned the girls to follow him through the back parking lot of the school. It was near nine at night and the janitors were just leaving for the night. The three teens cowered under the bushes until the coast was clear and the rushed for the back door. Tucker took a long sharp instrument from his jacket and quickly popped the back door open.

"Where did you ever learn to do that?" Jazz asked as she flipped on the Fenton Flashlight she brought with her.

"I have this uncle who…" Tucker began only to get a stern look from Sam. "Never mind, c'mon let's get down to Lancer's office."

The trio made their way to the vice-principal's office with no problem and Tucker popped the door in record time.

"He really should have a better lock." Tucker smiled while the two girls just groaned.

They entered the office and quickly found the tape in Lancer's in box. The playback unit was still there from the previous day and Jazz popped the tape in. She rewound it until she came to the fight. They watched it carefully but still saw Danny as the aggressor. Jazz rewound the tape again.

"What are we looking for?"

"Got to be something, anything!" Sam said, grasping for straws as she replayed the fight again.

Jazz looked away, too upset to watch when her eye caught the reflection of the TV screen in the glass pane of Lancer's office door.

"Oh my…Sam, Tucker, look at the door!" she gasped with utter shock.

The two turned away from the TV and watched the reflection on the glass. It was the fight, but as it actually happened.

"The reflection in the glass is showing an opposite view of what the tape is. Danny didn't start the fight! Jeremy Chancellor did!" Jazz whispered with alarm.

"I had a feeling that was going to happen. I think Dr. Wadsworth or some other ghost put a spell over Jeremy making all his actions look opposite of what they were."

"But why would Jeremy want to help the doctor if he destroyed him? Doesn't make sense." Tucker wondered as Jazz took the tape and stowed it in Sam's backpack, replacing it with a blank tape on Lancer's desk.

"Who knows? With the hold he's got on Danny, who can only imagine what he's got on Jeremy, either that or Jeremy is one sick dude." Tucker wondered aloud as they left the school as they had come.

"We've got to show this tape to my parents." Jazz said as she got into the car.

"Hold on Jazz. Maybe we should plan this out." Sam said as a warning as she and Tucker got into the car.

"Why? We can storm the place if we have to. We got to get Danny out of there!" Jazz protested. Sam put a hand on her shoulder.

"Jazz, we love Danny too, but we gotta do this with subtlety. We have to be extremely cautious. These are very dangerous ghosts we're dealing with. They'll be ready for the Fenton Ghost Assault RV to go roaring in there, but what they won't expect is the concerned older sister driving a hundred miles on her own just to sit by her brother's side."

"I don't get it." Jazz looked perplexed as Tucker leaned forward from the back seat with a Cheshire Cat grin.

"Oh I do! Sam always has the best plans! Sam and I sneak in the place and look for Danny while you keep the good doctor occupied. If anyone can ask a bunch of boring questions, it's you Jazz. I don't mean to be cruel, but…"

"I get the picture Tucker. I keep Doctor Creepy and his crew busy, you get Danny and we get out of Dodge. I like it!" Jazz said with a grin.

"But before we go, we got one more stop to make tonight. I wanna get a look at Wadsworth's office." Sam said darkly as Jazz drove off.

"I must say I think you've missed your calling in life, Tuck. Burglary is a moneymaker if you have the knack and you seem to." Sam said offhandedly as Tucker broke into Wadsworth's office.

"Lets check the files, desks any records he might be keeping on Danny." Jazz instructed as the three set about looking. Tucker found the recording box on the table near where Danny had had his sessions. He opened it and found the micro cassette recorder with the tapes stacked neatly next to it.

"Hey, think I found something here." he said as the two girls joined him. He rewound the tape and played the last part of Danny's most recent session over. Jazz reached over and turned it off, not bearing to hear her brother's crying.

"Why would he leave these behind if he's moved to Wren Cliff?" Sam asked uneasily.

"I don't know, but I'm taking these tapes and listening to them. We might just get to the bottom of this whole thing." Tucker said, snatching the tapes and slipping them into his pants pocket.

"We got school tomorrow Tucker." Sam reminded him.

"I don't care. We gotta help Danny. He'd do the same for us."

"This really bothers me." Jazz said as she went over to the desk and flipped on the computer. "He must be over confident or a complete jerk to leave…oh my.."

"What is it Jazz?" Tucker asked as he and Sam went to her side.

"This program, it's all about Danny!" she said with shock as she looked at the photos on the screen of her brother in various activities, unaware that he was being watched and photographed. Tucker pushed a button and took out the CD.

"Seems someone has done a lot of homework on my home boy." Tucker's voice took on an angry tone. He also wanted to make sure there was nothing on the disk that pertained to Danny Phantom since he was sure Jazz knew nothing about that part of Danny.

"This is a full blown conspiracy!" Jazz's voice was filled with fear as she looked at Danny's friends. "We have to tell my parents, we have to tell someone!"

"No! Jazz, we have to do this on our own! The fewer people who know what we're up to, the better our chances are to get Danny away from that place!" Sam pleaded with the older girl who finally nodded her agreement.

"Good. Now tomorrow is Friday so I say we make our move Saturday afternoon. That will give us time to map out a firm plan tomorrow night."

"But what about Danny in the meantime? What are they doing to him up there at Wren Cliff?" Jazz was sick with worry. Sam tried her best to smile with her answer, hoping herself she was right.

"I don't think they'll hurt Danny. Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to get him there. We've just got to keep a clear head for the job ahead of us. We can't dwell on what is or what isn't happening to Danny, and believe me it's harder than it sounds, but we have to be strong for him and come through for him. At least I know that's what he'd do for us."

Chapter IX

It was several hours after Danny received the injection that he began to awaken. He slowly blinked and rubbed his eyes to try to un-fuzz his vision. His head felt like it was stuffed tighter than Jazz's stuffed animals as he looked around.

He found himself in a very nicely appointed room, painted in a calming shade of blue. The furniture was a darker blue as was the carpet. It wasn't like a hospital room, but more like a hotel. The lighting was dimmed and very soft quiet music could be barely heard in the background.

Danny let out a groan as he tried to sit up, only to have a middle aged lady in a nurses uniform push him gently back down onto the bed.

"No, Danny. You can't get up yet. You might not have your balance back. It was a very strong medication Dr. Wadsworth gave you to help you sleep."

"Where am I?" he asked, rubbing his forehead to ease the sudden rush of pain from sitting up.

"You're at Wren Cliff, hon. Mr. Masters had the isolation ward set up just for you. When you're feeling better, you can get up and watch TV, play video games, pretty much anything you want, Mr. Masters said you can have." the nurse said with a smile as she handed him a cool glass of water.

Danny took a long drink from the glass and handed it back to her.

"Mr. Masters!" Danny smiled a sick smile. "Seems he's gonna get what he wants after all."

"What does he want?" the nurse asked with concern.

"Me. He's trying to drive me crazy to take me away from my family. He's a very evil man."

"Now Danny, that's a terrible thing to say about a friend of the family!" Dr. Wadsworth chastised as he entered the room and dismissed the nurse who gave Danny a sad smile as she left. Danny looked at his captor with a mix of fear and hate, unsure of which he felt stronger.

"Mr. Masters went to all the trouble to have this room set up just for you. That's very generous of him, don't you think?" Wadsworth asked as he sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"Funny, he seemed to know I was coming here before anyone else." Danny said blandly, turning away from the doctor who smiled.

"You're very strong willed, Danny. Very strong for a fourteen year old. In all my years of practice I've never come across a child quite like you."

"I don't know how Plasmius got that ring for you, or how you kept Jeremy Chancellor in physical form, but I swear I'll be the last kid you'll ever hurt." Danny challenged, still turned away from Wadsworth.

"My my, but this won't do! You're growing assertive again. I'm afraid we shall have to do something about that."

Danny didn't see Wadsworth remove the ring and without his Ghost Sense he couldn't feel his change until it was too late.

Wadsworth in ghost form grabbed Danny by the shoulders and pinned him down on his back. Without his ghost powers, Danny was helpless against the fiendish touch that send fear racing through his being.

"You let him sleep too long. That was a mistake."

"Oh great! Plasmius! I knew…" Danny was muffled by Wadsworth's cold ghostly hand covering his mouth. Plasmius sat down at the foot of the bed and gestured to Wadsworth to release Danny.

"Let the boy rattle on. It will be the last time he will."

Danny felt the ghostly grip lift from him and he sat up in the bed with defiance in his face and eyes.

"Can't give old Uncle Vlad the scary eyes now, can you? Oh, that's right, you can't remember how to change into Danny Phantom now, can you? Oh Daniel, when are you going to accept the fact that you are no match for me? Why do you make me go to these extremes? This plan has cost me a great deal of time and money."

"Gee, do I care? Uh, let me think…nope!"

"Childish attitudes will get us nowhere. Daniel, think about your position while you still have a fairly clear head. I am only days away from becoming your legal guardian."

"What?" Danny squeaked, leaning forward in the bed.

"Ah, now I have your attention! At this very moment, my dear boy, you are a ward of this institution which will find you unable to cope with your daily life at home because of your deathly fear of your father."

"My father? I'm not afraid of….the dreams? You sent them!" Danny's shock was not lost on either ghost as they enjoyed a malicious laugh at the expense of the boy.

"Very good, Daniel, very good! I hope to find you as quick in your studies with me when I finally take you home."

"Take me home?" Danny was puzzled at this statement. Plasmius got up and pushed Danny back onto the bed, leaning over him, pinning his arms down.

"Yes child. In a few days I will appear before the juvenal court and present my case to legally adopt you. The good Dr. Wadsworth here will testify that you are too fearful of your father to return and that you have suffered irreversible mental damage from that ghost ridden environment. The court will find in my favor and so Danny Fenton will be no more and Daniel Masters will come to live with his new father and be trained and schooled in the proper way to use his powers once I decide to give them back."

The color drained from Danny's face as he listened to the plan. He felt his head spinning as he shook his head, trying to wake from this latest nightmare. Unfortunately he realized he was awake and felt himself loosing the precious ground he had just gained in his confrontation. Vlad released his grip of Danny with a triumphant smile.

"Ponder it Daniel. A life in my service is far better than scooping up ghosts in that ridiculous thermos of yours."

"I want him to be alone for a while before I start his next session." Wadsworth said as he turned to leave.

"Please, no more. I can't take it…" Danny begged softly as his pleas fell on deaf ears as the two ghosts transformed back to human form and left the room.

"Do you really think he'll make a run for it?" Masters asked as they walked down the empty corridor.

"Oh, I'll bet my afterlife on it! He'll slip out and we'll give chase. That's why I left him in his own clothes, be easier to spot in the orchard where I'm sure we can tree him and bring him back, screaming to everyone that we are ghosts! We'll be back in time to start his six pm session. It's almost three now, three hours tops for him." Wadsworth said very nonchalantly.

Danny slowly sat up. The spinning feeling was gone, but the confusion reigned. He made himself concentrate. Wren Cliff was in Bayview, that was some one hundred miles from Amity Park! He had to make a break for it, no matter what it took, he had to get home. Then again, maybe that's what these fiends wanted him to do. To play another sick game on him. Danny didn't care about that option at the moment, his main goal was to escape. He slowly slipped off the bed and put a hand to his head as a rush of vertigo washed quickly over him and faded. He found his sneakers and slipped them on and quietly went to the door and peek out. The hallway was empty as he slipped out of his room and down the hall to the exit door. He put his hand on the exit, but froze wondering if there was an alarm on the door. Taking a deep breath and steering himself for a quick run, he pushed the door open for find it unlocked and unarmed. If it was a silent alarm, he'd better make a run for it, which he did down the back staircase and out the ground floor back door into the employee parking lot with he flew across and headed towards the gardens and beyond the old apple orchard.

Vlad and Horace watched with amusement as the boy sprinted away.

"Shall we go after him?" Vlad asked, itching for a good chase.

"Let's give him a few minutes. I have a good idea where he's going." Wadsworth smiled wickedly.

Danny stopped at the edge of the garden, now long past peak season. He leaned against the old stone fence that separated the properties. He huffed as he tried to gather his breath and strength. He hadn't eaten for nearly two days and the lingering effects of the needle he had received earlier in the day were not helping. He felt a growing panic in the pit of his stomach as he hopped over the ancient stone wall and made his way deep into the equally old apple orchard, long neglected and gone to seed. Looking up at he sky, Danny figured it was late afternoon by the position of the sun.

"I gotta start wearing a watch." he muttered to himself, then feeling stupid for worrying about such a trivial thing when his sanity was at stake.

He pushed onward, the chilly air making him shiver as he plowed through the mass of dead leaves and slippery apples that made him fall several times along the way. He had no idea where he was going only that it was as far from Wren Cliff as his tired body would carry him.

Nearly a half hour into his escape, he found an old abandoned barn that was once part of the farm. His mind told him he must keep moving, but his small body was just too worn to go further.

"If I just rest for maybe a few minutes, I can go on." he said to himself as he neared the barn. He slipped in between two gray broken wall slats. It was dark and musty, but warmer than the cold outside. He stumbled around in the darkness until he fell into an abandoned stack of stale hay. A crashing weariness overtook the boy as he slipped into sleep.

The nurse who had been attending Danny went back into his room to find him gone. She picked up the phone and dialed Dr. Wadsworth's temporary office.

"Dr. Wadsworth, the Fenton boy is gone!" she said with great alarm.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've checked the whole suite, he's not here. Could someone have left the back door open again?" the nurse wondered.

"I'll check on it. Mr. Masters and I will look for him off grounds, have a couple of orderlies standing by when I call and have the property checked." Wadsworth hung up the phone and nodded to Vlad.

"Time to get this party started."

Without his Ghost Sense, Danny never had a chance when Plasmius and Wadsworth entered the barn in ghost form. It was nearly sunset and the play of bits of red and gold light shifted along the cracks in the barn enough to light the pile of hay that Danny slept on. His face was bathed with a soft yellow light that made his dark hair sparkle from the damp air about him.

"He's a beautiful child. Something so ethereal and untouchable about him and I'm not speaking of his ghost side. He seems to be from another time perhaps." Wadsworth marveled as he floated down to look closely at the sleeping boy.

Vlad looked mildly amused at his partner.

"Never knew you were a poet."

"I'm not, but something about this boy, he's music and light. He's almost not real at times and then…I'm sorry Plasmius, sometimes I tend to get carried away when I encounter an enchanted child such as this."

"Well, artistic vision aside, it's time to rouse our little friend here." Plasmius said with a playfulness in his voice as he sat down next to Danny. He took a piece of the old hay and tickled the boy's nose with it. Danny tried to brush it away, but it persisted and he slowly woke.

"Time to rise and shine, little badger!" Vlad teased only inches from his face. Danny screamed in shock and tried to rise to his feet only to have Wadsworth grab him and throw him back into the hay. Danny tried to backpedal to escape, but only ended up deep in the hay.

"Oh for the love of…Daniel! Get out of there this instant!" Vlad ordered. There was no answer as he reached in and fished around for him.

"He's gone. Must be in here somewhere! So, you want to play Hide and Seek Daniel? I'm much better at that game than you, as you well remember. You can't hide from me." Plasmius teased as he floated around the barn, his hand glowing with red ectoplasm power. Wadsworth floated out of the barn to his car to call the staff to tell them where they had found the missing boy and to send help.

"Daniel, enough of this foolishness! Show yourself or I'll….ah, there you are, you little scamp!" Vlad said with great pleasure as he located Danny huddled behind a cracked support beam in one of the animal stalls.

Danny wrapped his arms around the post for dear life, shaking his head.

"No, I won't, I won't, I won't…"

"Won't what?"

"I'll never be your son. I'm Danny Fenton, Jack Fenton's son!"

The statement from the frightened boy enraged Plasmius enough to make him forget himself and hurl the ectoplasm ball at Danny. It hit him square in the chest and sent him flying into the back wall, the sound of cracked boards and fizzling ectoplasm filled the air as Wadsworth hurried back in, back in his human form.

"What have you done?" Wadsworth rushed to Danny's side to examine him.

"I did something I seldom do, I lost my temper." Vlad said quietly as he changed back to Masters.

"Fool! You could have killed the boy! He's just stunned, but he's coming around now. Come now, Danny. It's time to go." Wadsworth helped the boy to his feet as two uniformed attendants from the sanitarium entered the room.

"Dr. Wadsworth, you called for us?" one of the heavy set men asked.

"Yes. We found the Fenton boy. Take him back to his room and have him cleaned up for his evening session." Wadsworth instructed.

"NO! I'm not crazy! They are both ghosts! You have to believe me!" Danny went into a sudden tirade. The two attendants tried to grab him, but he struck out at them.

"You'd better take precautions, we don't want any employees injured." Vlad advised with a nod that the two attendants recognized as a code he'd set up with them earlier in the day. A couple hundred dollars a piece could buy him a guarantee fright for Danny. The two left and quickly returned with a rope net that they cornered the boy with. Throwing it on him, they quickly tackled Danny and wrapped him tightly in the net. The layers of fear planted by Plasmius and Wadsworth came to the surface of Danny's conscious like a spring.

"No, please don't do this! I'm not crazy! They are ghosts and they're trying to hurt me!"

"Sure kid, you just calm down and we'll get you back to Wren Cliff in a few minutes." one of the men said kindly as they gathered up the wrapped bundle and took him out to the van.

Vlad and Wadsworth watched with great satisfaction as Danny peered through the tangled net, silent tears streaming down his face, utterly defeated again.

Chapter X

Upon arrival back at Wren Cliff, the two attendants jumped in the back of the van and removed the net from Danny and ushered him back to the isolation ward and his room. Two nurses were there waiting with a hot bath and dry clothing. They fussed over him like mother hens, pulling the clinging hay from his hair. Within the hour, he found himself cleaned up, wearing a very bland gray shirt and pants and white sneakers. He put up no protest as he was guided to a small dining area off his bedroom where a hot meal was waiting for him. The nurse he'd first seen on his arrival sat at the small table and encouraged him to try to eat.

"Come on now hon, try to eat. You'll get sick if you don't eat just a little."

"You sound like my mother…I want my mother." Danny's voice quietly requested.

"You eat something and I'll talk to Dr. Wadsworth to see if we can have your mom come to see you."

Danny heaved a heavy sigh. He didn't want to eat, but his body was screaming for nourishment he'd been denying himself for two days. He slowly began to eat the light meal and the nurse smiled with satisfaction, unaware his food had been tampered with. Wadsworth had managed to mix some of the ghost agitator into his meal. He finished it all, to the delight of the nurse who told him he should go and relax for a while before his session.

Danny slowly went over to the couch and curled up on it, taking one of the pillows on the far end and hugging it close to his chest. He drifted off into a light sleep, only to find himself becoming restless from the medication again. It was about an hour after that when Dr. Wadsworth entered the room and dismissed the nurse for the evening. She told him of Danny's request for his mother.

"Young boys in his state of mind sometimes have mother fixations. He will see her as soon as I think he's ready, but thank you for keeping me informed." he smiled as she left the room.

Wadsworth sat down next to Danny on the couch as he squirmed uncomfortably. He reached with his long thin hand and stoked the boy's midnight hair.

"Ah Danny, what are we to do with you? Such a problem! Such a troubled child! Danny, can you hear me?"

Danny only let a small low groan be heard.

Wadsworth, tapped him gently on the face as Plasmius appeared in back of the couch.

"Is he ready?" Plasmius asked impatiently.

"Patience. He's in a fitful sleep at the moment. I need to bring him around just enough for the Dream Disruptor to do it's work. Come now Danny, wake up."

Danny forced his eyes open but made no acknowledgement of either person in the room. Wadsworth pulled the crystal from his pocket and held it in front of Danny's bleary eyes.

"Danny, it's time we find out who this person is in your dreams who torments you."

"No, I don't want to…want to forget…" he said wearily, not able to put up a fight.

"We cannot banish him from your dreams if we don't know who it is. I know you feel uncomfortable and I know you miss your powers but they will come back soon. The discomfort and fear will soon go away when you start your new life, but for now we must continue. Watch the crystal Danny, watch it dance in the dim light. Let it pull you away from the pain and back into a deep restful sleep. Close your eyes, child. That's a good boy. Now we will see who haunts you dreams."

"The last one, I promise Daniel, but by far, the worst." Plasmius said quietly as he let the Dream Disruptor float from his hand and down to Danny where it exploded and sunk into his body.

Danny felt no falling sensation, only a tugging as two masked robed figures dragged him once more into the candlelit room where the nightmares had all begun. The black candles burned about the room as the mist rolled in about his ankles sending a chill through his body. He then noticed the shackles on his wrists as the figures pushed him forcefully onto a circular platform of dark wood. He was stopped by the railing that encircled it. Before him was what looked to be a judges bench and off to the right, a glass case that made him gasp.

Inside the case, Danny Phantom stood, looking just as confused as Danny Fenton was. Their eyes met, blue to green and they tried to shout to each other, but could not be heard.

"Silence, misbegotten child of shadow!" the mysterious man who had been in all Danny's nightmares was back, sitting at the judge's bench, the mask on his face making him far more frightening than any normal face could be.

"Let him go! He's done nothing wrong!" Danny demanded, pointing to Danny Phantom.

"He is a miscreant, no better than you. He must be punished for your wrongs." the dark voice commanded.

"You punish him, then you punish me. We're one person, but how if…" Danny's head began to spin again trying to figure out how his ghost was outside of him? He leaned on the railing, trying to focus his thoughts.

"The child of shadow will atone for the child of light. The evil will overcome the good…"

"He's not, I mean I'm not….what am I saying?" Danny moaned, rubbing his forehead as it pounded.

"Misbegotten, unwanted….broken child, of no use to anyone." the voice said, then the figure at the bench pointed to the glass case that slowly filled with a sickly looking green mist. Danny watched with horror as his ghost, Danny Phantom choked and coughed, then finally disappeared in the green mist.

"No, no, no, no, NOOOOOOOO!" Danny screamed, his whole body shaking violently as he fell to his knees.

"Who are you? Why do you hate me so much?" he asked hoarsely as the figure came down from the bench and pulled Danny to his feet.

"One who hates you for being, for hiding secrets, for being a disappointment."

The man slowly removed the mask.

Danny's eyes grew wide with the deepest fear. He stumbled and fell on his back as he gazed at the face of his tormentor.

Jack Fenton's face glared back at the boy with malevolence.

Danny shielded his eyes with his forearm, pleading for this to stop.

"No, this is a sick joke, it has to be! My father loves me!"

"I hate you Danny. You have kept secrets from me, you must be punished for that."

Even though the voice was not Jack Fenton's, Danny's mind in it's weakened form converted the words into Jack's voice, and they cut deeper than any knife could.

"Why?" Danny sobbed as the figure of Jack stooped down and pulled the boy close to him.

"You were never suppose to be. I didn't want another child. Jasmine was the only one I loved."

"Someone help me?" Danny's tired voice cried as the impersonator scooped the boy in his arms and carried him over to the glass case where the mist was now gone to find Danny Phantom lying still on the floor.

"This is your crime, child. You shouldn't be here, let alone have two lives. Misbegotten child, you are quite mad. Your ghost has led you astray and driven you mad."

Danny was gently let down to the floor next to the glass case. He huddled near, reaching out as if trying to touch his ghost self through the glass.

He cried quietly, mourning the loss of Danny Phantom and his sanity.

"So, now he believes his father hates him. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the real Jack Fenton." Wadsworth said as he gave Danny an injection to calm him. He had become hysterical in his dream state which pleased the two men greatly.

"He manifested the dream. I hadn't expected that from him. He's usually so strong." Plasmius pondered as Wadsworth finished the injection. It calmed Danny's breathing in seconds and made his tense body limp. Plasmius bent down and picked Danny up in his arms taking him over to the bed than had been turned down earlier by the nurse. Wadsworth stood off a distance to watch, being as fascinated by Plasmius' torn feelings for the boy as Danny's mental instability.

Plasmius laid Danny down as gently as a newborn. A whisper of a sigh escaped Danny's lips as his head touched the pillow.

"I never wanted it to be like this. I wanted to you to come to me, willingly. I have so much to offer you Daniel. I will heal your broken mind, I promise and then I will rebuild your shattered spirit. Danny Phantom will rise from the ashes of this wreckage with the power only a true father can give his son. Biology can make a life, but only a kindred spirit can make a child his son. That's what we are Daniel, kindred spirits. Sleep well, little badger." Vlad said softly, tussling the boy's hair lightly.

"Not once have I heard you say you love the boy." Wadsworth observed, looking at Plasmius.

"Love is weak. He doesn't need love, he needs power and that's what I will give him. Ultimate power." Plasmius said, not taking his gaze off Danny.

"A child needs love." Wadsworth said plainly.

"This child needs power and I will give him all that he can take. Love is not his calling in life. He was born to rule and I will make him into a ruler." Vlad spoke with the deepest conviction in his voice.

Chapter XI

Jazz picked up Tucker and Sam at noon Saturday for their drive to Wren Cliff. The three teens were tense as they made their final plans on the long drive.

Tucker had spent most of the night listening to the tapes of Danny's therapy sessions. It was all he could do to hold in the anger he was feeling and not upsetting Jazz and Sam anymore than they already were. He did call Sam and tell her about one portion of a particular tape.

"It's a post hypnotic suggestion, just listen," Tucker said as he played the recording over the phone.

"Now we plant the block." Wadsworth said to Vlad before turning to Danny. "Danny, you will not remember how to turn into Danny Phantom from this time until I tell you."

"No, you can't…." Danny tried to struggle against the strong influence this ghost had over his weakened mind.

"Don't fight me boy. I have an arsenal of methods to make you bend to my will and many of them are very painful for a young ghost or human. Listen to me and obey me. You will not remember how to change into Danny Phantom. You may remember the power you had, but not how to use it."

"You can't….." Danny was cut off by a powerful surge of pain coming from Wadsworth's hands that raced through the boy's body.

"It will be worse the next time you say no and continue worsen. Pain is not good Danny. Act Two of our little drama is about to come to it's climax and I want you ready and willing to play your part. Now, again I tell you that you will not remember how to become Danny Phantom. Only when I tell you the phrase, "Danny you may Go Ghost" will you remember how do become Danny Phantom again. Until that time, you will have no powers, they will be locked away in your subconscious. Now do you understand?"

"Yes." Danny said with total defeat in his voice."

"That rotten snake! He made Danny forget how to use his powers!" Sam was furious as she listened to the tape.

"Well, we got the edge now. All we have to do is find Danny and play the part where Wadsworth tells him he can Go Ghost. Danny will obey because…" Tucker was cut off by Sam chiming in as he slipped the micro recorder in the side pocket of his pants.

"Wadsworth said only he could give the command, and since we have his voice on tape, we got him!"

Sam and Tucker kept this part of the plan to themselves since they would be the ones looking for Danny. Sam had managed to find a website on Wren Cliff and it had a floor plan of the building.

"Wonder how many people Masters paid off to keep Danny under wraps?" Tucker wondered as they entered the gates of the property.

"I don't know. Just don't trust anyone." Jazz said finding a parking space amongst the employee parking spaces. She stopped the car and turned in her seat to the pair in back. "This could be dangerous. You have the weapons I gave you?"

"Your mom's all purpose utility lipstick, and the Fenton Thermos to catch that creep in." Sam said holding up the two items from inside her backpack that was stowed on the floor.

"That should get you in and out with Danny. I'm taking the Fenton Peeler. Dr. Wadsworth's gonna get a big surprise when he meets Danny's big sister." Jazz said with a nasty tone to her voice which was foreign to the two teens in back. "Ok, we split up. One hour. That's all we have before my folks get here and tear the place up."

"Your parents are coming?" Sam asked with shock.

"I left them a message. They're out shopping and should be back home by now, though the way Dad drives I'm surprised they're not here yet. Don't look at me like that, we need back up and who's better than them? With any luck we'll have this whole thing sewn up before they get here." Jazz got out of the car along with Sam and Tucker who she grabbed in a hug.

"Be careful. What I know of Vlad Masters is that he plays for keeps and if he wants Danny this badly, he wouldn't hesitate to…" she let her voice drop. Sam and Tucker smiled at her.

"Don't worry Jazz. We can handle him. You be careful with Wadsworth, he's the real danger." Tucker warned as they split up. Sam and Tucker headed towards the back of the building while Jazz went in the front.

She went to the reception desk, clutching a handkerchief and pretending to dab her eyes.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"I've come to see my brother, Danny Fenton." she falsely whimpered.

The receptionist punched away at the keyboard before she came up with Danny's information.

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Fenton. Your brother is not allowed any visitors at this time."

"Oh, I've got to see him! I was at school when this all happened and I've driven all this way! Just a couple of minutes, just to let him know I still love him! Please!" Jazz laid it on thick, wondering to herself why she never went out for the Drama Club.

The receptionist was sucked into Jazz's act. She picked up the phone with a smile and dialed.

"Dr. Wadsworth? This is Reception calling. I'm sorry to interrupt you but I have a young lady here, Miss Fenton. She's Danny Fenton's sister and she would very much like to see him….alright, I'll tell her." The receptionist looked up at Jazz and put the phone down in it's cradle.

"Dr. Wadsworth will be with you in a moment. He'll tell you what is going on with your brother's treatment. Have a seat."

"Thank you so much!" Jazz smiled as she went over to the plush plum colored couch and sat down.

"Well, that is very interesting." Wadsworth said, putting the phone down in his office.

"What is?" Vlad Masters asked as he looked out over the grounds from the window of the office.

"Seems Danny's sister has come to pay him a visit."

"Jasmine? That's not like the girl. If her parents told her no visitors, then…oh, what do we have here?" Vlad's voice took on an almost childish delight as he motioned for Wadsworth to join him. "Look, those two teens below? Those are Daniel's best friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Seems as though these three have mounted a rescue mission! How sweet of them!"

"A very bold move. I'm surprised they didn't bring Danny's parents." Wadsworth pondered as Vlad watched Tucker and Sam disappear into a back doorway.

"They won't. These children think they're heroes! Oh, this is going to be fun! You take care of Miss Fenton and I will intercept Mr. Foley and Miss Manson. I want to see how really mad Daniel has become when he sees his two best friends and thinks he's seeing things!" Vlad smiled as he changed to Plasmius and disappeared in a swirl of green mist.

"Wonder how Jazz is doing?" Tucker asked as he and Sam wandered down the quiet back hallway. They had entered by the service entrance and were slowly making their way down the hall to the stairway that lead hopefully to the isolation ward where Danny was being held. Voices coming from an adjoining hallway cause the pair to jump into the nearest room.

They held their breaths until the voices faded.

"Ok, I think we can…Sam, do you have your hand on my shoulder and if so, why is it so cold?" Tucker asked uneasily.

"Uh, no. I was gonna ask you the same thing." she said with equal uneasiness. A bare light bulb flickered on above head and the two turned to find Vlad Plasmius holding both by the shoulder in one of the linen closets.

"Well, well! What do we have here? Dust bunnies perhaps? But no, it's dear Tucker and Sam come to Daniel's rescue no doubt?" Vlad grinned with great amusement.

"Would you believe we're selling cookies for the Freshman Class Outing?" Tucker offered with a shaky voice.

"A hundred miles away from home? Nice try, Mr. Foley. Say, I have a wonderful idea!" Vlad said with a glimmer in his red eyes.

"You're gonna let us go?" Sam asked, but with not much hope.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it! Not when you've come so far to see Daniel! In fact, I'm feeling rather generous since my plans are going so well. Why don't the three of us go up to Daniel's room and wait for him? It's very nice and private. Seems he has the whole isolation ward to himself! The three of us can have a nice chat while we wait for him to come back from his walk."

Before Tucker and Sam could protest, Plasmius hit them with a Ghost Stun that dropped them to the floor unconscious. He easily scooped each under an arm and became invisible and flew through the ceiling to Danny's room.

"It's very nice of you to give me your time, Dr. Wadsworth. You must be very busy!" Jazz smiled as she shook hands with him in his office. An attendant had escorted her to the office just off the isolation ward.

"I'm never too busy to help young people, it's what I live for, my dear. Why don't we have a seat and talk." he gestured for her to sit in the seat in front of his desk, where he sat and smiled at her.

"I know you said Danny can't have any visitors, but I need to see him. He's my little brother and I feel so…"

"Responsible? That's a common feeling for a older sister towards a younger brother. The maternal instinct comes on very early in intelligent teens such as yourself. You also feel guilty for not being able to help him before all this started, please Miss Fenton, don't feel that way! No one could help him. This was meant to happen."

"I don't understand, Danny's always been very sensible." Jazz went along.

"Stability on the outside can often mask instability on the inside. From my observations he probably has never been a well boy, but I'm hoping with the right motivation and medication we can set things to right."

"Well, I know it's not my place to argue with a professional, but I have made a study of child psychology myself and I have come to the conclusion that someone did this to my brother." Jazz said with firmness.

Wadsworth leaned back in his chair, gazing at her with a perplexed countenance.

"Really? Now who in the world would want to hurt your brother? He doesn't seem to be the type to garner enemies."

"I didn't come here to play games. I've done my homework. I wonder who it was, Dr. Horace Wadsworth, or perhaps you brought it on him!" Jazz said with angry determination as she jumped from her seat and pulled the Fenton Peeler from her bag. It snapped into life, sealing her in a protective suit before discharging it's harsh green beam on the doctor.

He cried out in agony and anger as the ruby ring holding his physical form fell from his hand as his body was torn from his ghost form, revealing the malevolent ghost.

"Aren't you the bright girl? You think that stripping me of my physical form will save your brother and his friends?"

"Tucker and Sam!"

"Yes! Mr. Plasmius is at this moment making them comfortable for their visit with young Danny. A visit, my dear you will not be fortunate enough to pay him…ever!"

Wadsworth let go a blast of violet energy from his hands that knocked the Fenton Peeler from Jazz and collapsed her protective suit. She tried to reach for her bag that held the other Fenton Thermos she had brought, but Wadsworth scooped it up and pulled the thermos out. He examined it as Jazz lay helpless on the floor.

"Your parents are very brilliant indeed, Miss Fenton! It's such a pity that accidents happen. Oh, I'm sorry, you don't know? Well my dear, you are going to be the victim of a medical malpractice, something I specialize in. This plan of ours has gone on too long for you to come in here and muck it up. Danny will have his new father and I will go on to continue my practice, with a new identity of course, thanks to Mr. Masters. It has been a pleasure meeting you."

Wadsworth let loose another blast that sent Jazz spinning into unconsciousness. He picked her up and took her into his examination room through the wall.

Chapter XII

"Well now, everyone is nice and comfy, that's good!" Plasmius said with greatest satisfaction as he admired his handiwork.

Sam and Tucker were seated in two chairs, tied back to back with a glowing red ectoplasm rope as they slowly came around to consciousness.

"Where? What happened?" Sam asked slowly, shaking off the effects of the Ghost Stun.

"I feel awful!" Tucker groaned as he focused his eyes and saw Plasmius sitting on the couch in front of them. "I take that back, I feel worse!"

"As well you should, Mr. Foley. You two just never seem to know how to mind your own business, do you?" Plasmius asked leaning back on the couch.

"Not when it comes to Danny we don't." Sam answered angrily as she tried to break free from the ghostly bonds. Plasmius looked amused at her struggle.

"Don't waste what precious energy you have left, Miss Manson. I want you to have a nice final visit with Daniel."

"What do you mean by, final?" Tucker gulped nervously.

Plasmius sighed, shaking his head.

"If you two had only learned to stay out of my way, I might have let you come to visit Daniel when he is well again, but unfortunately that will be impossible unless you happen to end up in the Ghost Zone and he runs into you there. Oh, don't look so shocked! In fact, your demise will be at the kind hands of a dear friend."

"No! You can't have that much power over him!" Sam said in utter shock.

"You can't make Danny kill us!" Tucker yelped.

"Of course I can!" Plasmius said with a dark change in his voice as he leaned forward. "I can make Daniel do anything I wish him to. I've bent his poor little mind so that he can't blink his eyes without my permission and he is in such a deathly fear of his father that…oh I believe he's on his way in now. I must change to look the part of the concerned father that I shortly will be. Now watch and be amazed at what better living through chemistry can do to the human mind!"

Plasmius changed back to Masters as the door opened and Danny entered the room, waving to someone in the hall.

"Did the nurse take you for a nice walk Daniel?" Masters asked kindly.

"Yes sir. It was nice to go outside." Danny said with a sickly smile on his face and a vague glazed look over his eyes.

"Ignore anything you may think you see or hear outside the norm until I leave. Do you understand?" Master's instructed.

"Yes sir." Danny replied simply.

"Danny! It's us!" Tucker called out, but Danny ignored the plea.

"Daniel, I need to speak with you a bit later, there's something I want you to do for me." Vlad said as Danny went to sit down next to him.

"Danny! Don't listen to him!" Sam urged, but on deaf ears.

"Anything, as long as I don't have to see him again." Danny turned away with a sad look. Vlad reached out and put a hand under Danny's chin, pulling his face back to look at him.

"No Daniel. I won't let you see that monster who calls himself your father ever again. When you're well enough you will come to live with me and everything will be as it should be. No more fear, no more nightmares, do you understand?"

"Yes, I do."

"No I must go and attend to some business matters. Now, I don't want you to be frightened when I close the door and leave you alone. You may still be having hallucinations and that's perfectly alright."

"I don't want to…." Danny protested but Vlad put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"Some things, my son cannot be helped. Relax and be happy. No one can hurt you here. No one will ever hurt you again, I promise." Vlad's voice had a hypnotic effect on Danny as Sam and Tucker watched his body relax as he curled up on the couch. Vlad rose and spoke to the two horrified teens.

"You see? He is utterly in my power now. The way it should be, the way it was meant to be. Now I will bid you both a final farewell. This has been an interesting game, but you were bound to loose." Vlad laughed softly as he left the room.

"Danny! Snap out of it! It's us! Sam and Tucker!" Sam raised her voice only to have Danny reply flatly.

"Great! I'm hearing things again! Oh well, guess it goes with the territory!"

"C'mon man! You're the only one who can stop this!" Tucker urged as Danny rolled onto his side and saw Tucker and Sam for the first time, having Vlad's influence to ignore them gone.

"Wow, now I'm seeing things! Boy when I go crazy I sure go all the way!" Danny smiled as he reached over his head and took a pad of paper from the table and started to make paper airplanes as he spoke. "Why bother think about it. Mr. Masters does the thinking for me and that's fine."

"Danny! Don't talk like that! That's not you!" Sam challenged, struggling against her bonds. Danny looked at her and smiled sadly.

"I wish you were here, Sam. I miss you and Tucker, but Mr. Masters said I don't need you anymore, so now I'm just imagining you're here."

"Tied up? When did you ever imagine us tied up like this! Dude, when this is over, we gotta get you out more!" Tucker said with growing agitation as Danny tossed a paper airplane at Tucker that hit him in the lower leg.

"Sam! The recording! It's in my pocket!" Tucker said with excitement, having forgotten the tape with the code that would bring Danny Phantom back.

"But what if Danny Phantom is as nuts as Danny Fenton?" Sam asked.

"Oh, he's not," Danny said grinning as he sat up on the couch. "Dr. Wadsworth told me that Danny Phantom is sleeping now and when I'm better he can come back to me, so I'll always have a friend nearby."

Sam growled angrily.

"Danny Fenton, party of one!" she glowered at the boy.

"Sam, let me try, ok?" Tucker offered. "Danny? If I'm a figment of your imagination and let me say home boy, you got a great imagination…"

"Tucker!"

"Right, right! If I'm just in your head then why do I have a present for you?"

Danny's eyes lit up happily.

"A present? I love presents! What is it?"

"It's in my lower pants pocket. C'mon and get it, I mean a figment of your imagination can't hurt you, now can it?" Tucker urged, know how much Danny loved surprises. Danny reached out cautiously, but pulled his hand back close to his chest.

"What if you're a ghost and want to hurt me?"

"Dude, if you don't help us we will be ghosts and then I'm gonna open up a big old can of hurt on you! Just reach in my pocket, you're gonna like it!" Tucker smiled through his growing tension.

Danny flexed his fingers as he leaned forward and reached into the pocket of Tucker's pants. He grasped the small recorder and pulled it out.

"Hey, this is neat! Now I can record myself talking to myself!" Danny said with great pleasure.

"No, don't record! There's a message on that tape, just for you." Sam added brightly with a sweet smile despite her cold sweating fear.

"Really? A message for me?" Danny asked with juvenal delight as he looked for the play button.

"Yes, it's a secret message. That's why we came all this way. It's just for you." she added, trying not to look into his hazy blue eyes that were clouding Danny's true self.

"Can I play it now?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes! Play it now and you'll feel so much better!" Tucker grinned as he watched Danny press the play button. The voice of Dr. Wadsworth came over the small speaker clearly.

"Only when I tell you the phrase, "Danny you may Go Ghost" will you remember how to become Danny Phantom again. Until that time, you will have no powers, they will be locked away in your subconscious. Now do you understand?"

The color drained from Danny's face as he dropped the recorder to the floor. He slowly rose, trembling from the shock the command gave him.

Tucker and Sam watched with racing hearts and Danny doubled over.

A strong wind seemed to blow in his mind, taking the fear and sickness away. In his mind's eye he saw Danny Phantom break through the misty glass barrier he had been imprisoned in.

A sharp pain raced through his mind as he clutched his head and screamed. He felt something rip through his being, the curtain of mist being rent in two. His body shuttered as he slowly stood straight and balled his fists.

The memory returned as promised.

"I'm Going Ghost!" he cried out.

The glowing white rings formed around his waist and traveled over his body, warming him, welcoming him back to reality. He opened his eyes when he was fully transformed and looked around as if he had just been born into a world of wonder.

"Where have I been? I feel so strange….Tucker, Sam…what's going on?" he asked as he used his Ecto-energy blast to cut their bonds and free them.

Tucker got up and scooped up the recorder and handed it to Danny.

"This is what's been happening. Plasmius and Wadsworth have been driving you crazy."

Danny listened to the tape for a moment then shut it off.

"I remember now, Jeremy Chancellor is a ghost too. But why?"

Danny asked.

"Because that Plasmius jerk wants you to be his son." Jeremy's voice came from the doorway that he phased through. He was a misty gray in his ghost form.

Danny flew across the room and landed a punch square in the other ghost's abdomen area. Jeremy crashed into a lamp and table in the far corner of the room. He slowly got up and sent a red blast from his hand that hit Danny in the chest, sending him flying over the couch with a groan.

"Danny, be careful! You haven't had your powers for several days. Who knows how much strength you have?" Sam cautioned. Danny slowly rose from the floor.

"Guess we'll just have to find out the old fashioned way, Sam!" Danny grunted with pain as he flew towards Jeremy who met him in the middle of the room.

"Nice shot, Danny, but you're no match for me!" Jeremy growled as he grabbed Danny by the wrist and flung him to the floor.

"What do you get out of being Wadsworth's flunkie? Free medical benefits?" Danny challenged as he barely managed to raise a dome shield around him as Jeremy flew around him, hitting him with several red balls of energy.

"I get a chance to live again! That ring doc has is keeping him and me in physical form. I wear the small amulet when I need to hold a physical form, but when this is over, big Daddy Vlad's gonna let us have those trinkets for keeps!"

"But he killed you! Why help him?" Tucker asked, trying to get the ghost away from Danny for a moment.

Jeremy turned to face Tucker and Sam.

"Oh, you found out about that? Danny's got some smart friends! Then you know about the others he killed." Jeremy loomed closer to the two teens.

"But why are you bound to him?" Sam asked quietly, trying to keep her eyes off Danny as he tried to shake off the growing weariness from not using his powers for so long.

"Because he's my uncle, you idiots!" Jeremy roared at them, encircling Sam and Tucker in a ring of red energy. Danny was about to charge again, but stopped to listen to the teen ghost's story.

"Yeah, you should look shocked! Dear Uncle Horace can fix everything so my parents though! Dig this how he fixed me up, doped me up so that I ended up having a heart attack at fifteen! Didn't you two know he was into dark magic even then? Guess they didn't put that in the books, did they? That's how he bound my ghost over to him!"

Danny flew up behind him and grabbed him.

"Dude, I though my family were a bunch of flakes, but your uncle takes the cake!" Danny looked down at his friends with a curious look as he asked.

"Uh, you guys wouldn't happen to have any of my parents weapons with you?"

"Duhhhh!" Tucker and Sam said in unison. They grabbed the backpack and fished for the utility weapon and thermos.

"You're too weak to beat me, Danny!" Jeremy snarled as he reached behind him and grabbed the back of Danny's head and flung him over his own head. Danny hit the wall, stunned for a few moments.

"Hey! Nobody busts my boy open like that!" Tucker yelled as he opened the Fenton Utility Weapon and pointed it towards the circle of ectoplasm about them. He fired and it vanished. Sam tossed the Fenton Thermos to Danny as he slowly got to his feet.

Jeremy swooped down and grabbed Danny by the front of his suit and flung him across the room onto the bed. Tucker fired the weapon at Jeremy but missed and incurred the ghost's wrath. A bolt of red power blasted Sam and Tucker to the floor and into a semi conscious state.

"The great Danny Phantom! What a joke you are! What should I do with you? I'd like to destroy you, but Masters wouldn't like that, maybe I can share my madness with you on a permanent basis! I'll just touch your mind with mine and there'll be no coming back to sanity for you!" Jeremy grinned with sharp fangs as he hovered over the bed and reached his claw like hand down towards Danny's head.

Danny swallowed his fear and flipped the top off the thermos and watched the pale blue power of the Fenton Vortex suck the malevolent teen inside, screaming all the way. He fumbled as he put the lid back on and let out an audible sigh and groan. Slowly he rose from the bed and went over to Sam and Tucker helping them onto the couch.

"We should go check on Jazz." Sam said heading for the door.

"Jazz is here with you? Where is she?" Danny demanded.

"She went to keep Wadsworth busy while we busted you out." Tucker said in a very matter of fact manner. Danny put a hand to his mouth with shock.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Oh no! If he can do what he did to his own nephew, what's he gonna do to my sister!" This is all my fault…" Danny moaned, smacking himself on the head with the heel of his hand.

"Don't do this to yourself Danny! C'mon and focus! We gotta get to Jazz before it's too late!" Sam grabbed Danny by his upper arms and shook him. Danny dropped his chin to his chest.

"You're right Sam, gosh I'm so tired…"

"I know you're tired! You've been through so much, but we got to get to Jazz and get outta here!" Sam pleaded. Danny looked at her, his eyes glowing green with fresh resolve.

"No time for the Danny Fenton Pity Party. My sister needs me." Danny grabbed Tucker and Sam by the hand and became invisible as he flew towards the doctor's office, hoping he was in time to save the sister who risked everything to come and save him.

Chapter XIII

Danny flew into the office and when he found it empty, he became visible and landed lightly on the floor along with Sam and Tucker.

"Where could he have taken her?" Tucker asked in a hushed voice. Sam saw the door in back of the desk and pointed to it.

"Right. Maybe Danny Fenton should check this out." Danny said with a smile as he changed back to his human form.

"Danny, are you nuts? Oh, sorry!" Sam said catching herself. Danny squeezed her hand and smiled with a bit of wicked mischief.

"Oh, I'm crazy alright, crazy like a fox!" he looked around and saw Jazz's bag on the floor behind the desk. He picked it up and found the Fenton Peeler and the other Fenton Thermos. He handed them to Sam and Tucker.

"If I should fail, you know what to do." he said seriously as he turned the knob on the door and walked in as Tucker and Sam stood on either side of the door, their hearts racing.

He immediately saw his sister strapped down on the table unconscious. He was relived to find her still alive as a door on the far end of the examination room opened and in walked Dr. Wadsworth in his human form.

"Danny? What are you doing here? This is your rest time, you should be lying down." he said with concern as he came to the boy.

"I couldn't sleep. Who's this?" he asked innocently, doing his best to control his growing anger.

"No one you need be concerned about, my boy. This girl just needs some medication." he said, picking up a hypodermic needle from a tray on the table. Wadsworth turned and patted Danny on the head. "Now be a good boy and wait for me in my office and I'll take you back to your room and give you something to help you sleep."

"I don't want to sleep." Danny said with wide eyed innocence.

"Then what do you want, my child?"

"I want my sister released and you to go back to wherever you came from!" Danny challenged as the white circles glowed around him and changed him to Danny Phantom.

Wadsworth dropped the needle in shock. Danny pointed at it and let a surge of Ectoplasm Energy destroy it.

"Such a clever boy! How did you manage to escape my spell?" Wadsworth asked with uncertainty. Danny walked up to him, slowly.

"I have friends, very loyal friends who do their homework. They found your little recordings in the office and especially the one with the key to release me from your so-called spell. I'm back, and with a vengeance."

Danny let lose a ball of power that he threw at Wadsworth. It caught the doctor unaware and sent him crashing into the cabinet across the room.

"I underestimated you, Danny. A mistake I won't make again!" Wadsworth removed the ring holding him in physical form and became the ghost. He placed the ring on the counter and floated up above Danny, shooting a violet ray of ectoplasm that caught Danny in the chest, knocking him down. Wadsworth swooped down and scooped the stunned boy in his arms.

"You see, my child I am not only a psychiatrist but a master of the Dark Arts as well and I will put such a spell on you…" Wadsworth threatened only to have Danny grab the doctor's upper arm and spin himself from his grasp, throwing him across the room against the wall.

"You overplay your hand, Danny. Jeremy! Come to me at once!" Wadsworth commanded, but looked perplexed when his call went unheeded.

"Sorry, but Jeremy is on a school break, courtesy of the Fenton Thermos!" Danny grinned. Wadsworth's countenance darkened.

"So as darkness envelopes the light so shall I envelope you! I shall take you to a place of such darkness, this passing madness of yours will seem like a child's game!"

"That is so not going to happen, dude." Danny wrinkled his nose up at the thought.

It was then that Vlad Plasmius entered the room from the ceiling.

"Just thought I would drop in and…Daniel? But how…what?"

"I'll tell you later, Plasmius when I'm done kicking this guys ghost butt and start on yours!" Danny said with a sneer as he turned to lob another Ecto-blast at Wadsworth, but the momentary distraction of Plasmius' arrival lost him the advantage he needed.

Wadsworth eyes were glowing red and hooded as he held out his hands and said in a sinister voice,

"Spirits of Darkness, heed my call! Entangle this boy with your malevolent thrall! Change him back to human part, that I may claim his ghost and heart!"

"That has got to be the lousiest poem I've ever heard!" Danny groaned only to have it come true.

Long greenish gray tentacles seem to fly from every cabinet door around him. Two wrapped around his ankles and pulled him down as another pair locked his wrists, pulling his arms out straight. Another wrapped around his head and sent a shockwave through his body, changing him back to Danny Fenton.

The room grew dark as the sky outside opened a heavy thunderstorm onto the grounds.

"Wait just one minute! This was not part of our deal!" Plasmius demanded. "You cannot kill the boy!"

"Plasmius, you are such a fool!" Wadsworth voice boomed as he turned to him with a dark smile.

"When you told me of the boy, I thought this would be an amusement, but as I touched him, I found the purest heart I'd ever encountered. You want the boy merely for a son, a toy for your vanity. I need him to complete my ascension to Grand Master of Voltros, a level of Darkness you could not comprehend."

"Let me go!" Danny yelled only to have another of the tentacles slip down over his mouth.

"I need Danny Fenton to bring to the Dark Realm of Voltros, to reside with me, forever!"

"You have the ring, what more do you…" Plasmius started, then realized he had been a pawn in his own game.

"He is the Key to Voltros? That was just a Ghost Zone legend! A fairy tale…oh, Daniel what have I done?"

"You have given me what I need, and you will be rewarded for that once my spell is complete and the boy is taken back to my kingdom in chains!" Wadsworth laughed manically as he produced a set of dark metal chains with tiny thorn like edges. He slowly advanced on Danny only to be stopped by a blinding red bolt of power from Plasmius' hands. Wadsworth fell to his knees, stunned.

"Daniel! The Ghost Fire! It's your only chance! Use the anger you feel at him and me! Free yourself before…" Plasmius was stunned by a hot violet bolt from Wadsworth that sent him sprawling to the floor.

Danny stopped struggling against the monster holding him and closed his eyes as he focused his feelings. He felt the anger at being once again betrayed and lied to. All the pain and anguish of the last several days built up and gave him the power to change back to Danny Phantom as he felt the fire growing in his hands. The fire grew up his hands until the beast let lose it's grip on him and slithered away. He turned to face Wadsworth, who looked more like a demon than a ghost at this point.

The monster that was Wadsworth reached out and touched Danny with it's long claw-like fingertips.

"So," he said in a harsh, raspy voice "There is indeed a Prince of Darkness inside of you! A worthy addition to my kingdom!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you, ever!" Danny said more as a command as he let loose two blast of green fire that enveloped the demon and scorched the creature badly. It laughed at his efforts.

"It will take more anger than that, Danny Phantom. The anger needed to destroy me will consume you and make you a greater threat than I could ever dream to be! You loose either way, loose your life or loose your ghost to Darkness. You cannot win!"

Danny's face turned almost stone like as he prepared to hit the demon with another volley, only to hear a calm voice cut through the storm in his mind.

"No Danny. This isn't the way."

"Sam, please! I have to do this!" he argued, not turning away from Wadsworth.

Sam walked slowly towards him. She was frightened, having never seen him use the Ghost Fire. She only heard him talk about it. A new power he had gained in the Ghost Zone at the hands of Vlad Plasmius. A double edged sword he had called it. It cleansed and cursed him at the same time.

"Danny, you promised to not use that power until you were older. This is not your time."

"It is his time!" Plasmius rose from the floor and put his hands on Danny's trembling shoulders. "Use it Daniel! It's yours for the taking, it is your birthright!"

"No Danny." Sam said coming up beside Danny, ignoring Plasmius' dark glare at her as she held out the Fenton Thermos that had been in Jazz's bag. "This is your birthright. The Ghost Fire is a gift, but it came way too early for you. Put it away and do the right thing."

The air hung heavy for what seemed an eternity. No one moved, no one seemed to breath.

Danny closed his eyes and bowed his head. The fire extinguished from his hands.

"Oh fudge buckets!" Vlad swore as he backed away. Danny opened his eyes and took the thermos from Sam and smiled.

"You always pull me back from the brink." he said, taking the lid off the thermos.

"Hey, if I don't who will? Tucker?" she smiled.

"I heard that!" Tucker yelled from the doorway.

Danny pointed the Fenton Thermos at Wadsworth as the Fenton Vortex swirled about him.

"You will pay for this, child! I swear on all that is Evil, you will pay!"

Wadsworth was sucked into the thermos and Danny slapped the lid on and clutched it tightly to his chest as a crashing weariness overtook him. The white rings warmed him as he transformed back to Danny Fenton and slipped to the floor unconscious as a commotion was heard coming from the other room.

"Danny! Jazz!" Maddie Fenton's frantic voice called out. Vlad became invisible and made a hasty retreat through the side wall as Jack and Maddie stormed into the room followed by an elderly man in a business suit and lab coat over it.

"What are these children doing here? Jack are these your children?"

The elderly man pointed to Sam and Tucker.

"No! We're Danny's friends, Danny's the one on the floor, Jazz is on the table." Tucker explained as the man went over to see Jazz as she groaned.

"Dr. Hanson, is she alright?" Maddie asked as she put down her Fenton Bazooka and helped remove the straps from Jazz and help her slowly sit up.

Jack dropped his Jack-O-Nine Tails and rushed over to Danny who was still unconscious.

"This Fenton Thermos has been activated. There's a ghost inside?" Jack wondered as he scooped his son up into his arms.

"Danny caught the ghost, Mr. Fenton. That Dr. Wadsworth, he was a ghost!" Sam explained briefly as Dr. Hanson grabbed the phone on the work bench and called for assistance.

"My son, he caught a ghost?" Jack whispered with amazement as Dr. Hanson came and checked Danny.

"Pulse is racing, pupils are dilated. Your son has had an awful shock, Jack, both your children have."

"Dr. Hanson, will they be alright?" Maddie asked as several members of the Wren Cliff staff rushed into the room and put Jazz in a wheelchair despite her weak protests. Jack laid Danny down on a gurney and tried to take the thermos, but Danny grunted with protest, holding on tight.

"Who is Dr. Hanson, Mrs. Fenton?" Sam asked as they took Danny away.

"Dr. Hanson was a psychology teacher at Madison where Mr. Fenton and I went to college. He also dabbled in parapsychology as well. He is the chief of staff at Wren Cliff now. We had some trouble getting in touch with him however. Seems he was sent to Vienna for a two week seminar." Maddie pondered as Vlad Masters made an appearance.

"What's all the commotion about? Jack? Maddie? What in heaven's name are you doing here?"

"Vlad, the most horrible thing! That Dr. Wadsworth friend of yours was a ghost!" Maddie said with shock as Vlad feigned shock .

"Mr. Masters? I must speak to you as soon as I get these two children stabilized. I believe you are the one who arranged to bring the Fenton boy here? You know this facility does not take adolescents. We must have a serious talk about your status as a member of the Board of Directors!" Dr. Hanson said sternly as he motioned for Jack and Maddie to come with him.

"My, but this day gets better by the minute!" Sam said with a cheerful smile as she locked arms with Tucker and followed the Fentons, leaving Vlad with a boiling anger and the loss of his son.

Chapter XIV

Danny woke slowly, his eyes felt like they had sandbags on them. He felt warm and peaceful, for the first time in over a week.

"Sweetie, are you alright? Wake up for Mommy now, that's a good boy!"

His mother's voice was comforting as he looked around to find himself in a hospital room. He gasped a ragged breath and found himself still clinging to the Fenton Thermos that he'd captured Wadsworth in.

"Well hello there Danny! I'm Dr. Hanson. You're at the Bayview General Hospital."

"I, I..I'm not at the…." Danny said with a quiver in his voice.

"No Danny, you're not at the 'nuthouse'." Dr. Hanson smiled as he checked the IV that was dripping into Danny's left arm. "You've had quite a rough go of it. We're going to have you stay overnight to make sure you are fine and in the meantime you and I will have a chat. I'd like to know what has happened to you that led Mr. Masters to think he could have you committed to our facility."

Danny let out a little humph of a laugh.

"If I told you, you'd never believe me and you'd lock us both up!"

Dr. Hanson laughed.

"Sharp sense of humor, Maddie. He takes after you."

"You know my mom?" Danny asked.

"Dr. Hanson was a professor at Madison when your father and I were students. We had several classes with him, Vlad too."

"Good ol' Uncle Vlad!" Danny said flatly.

"Why don't you and I talk about that for a bit, Danny?" Dr. Hanson asked as a nurse brought in a cold soda with a straw.

"You read minds here too?" Danny said with a thanks to the nurse. He took a sip then nearly spit it out.

"Jazz! Where's my sister? Tucker, Sam…"

"Calm down, Danny! Calm down! Everyone is fine! Your sister is in the waiting room with your friends and your father. You can see them later. Maddie, why don't you go and tell them they can see Danny in a bit." Dr. Hanson advised.

Maddie bent over and planted a kiss on her son's forehead before she left.

"Now then Danny, let's start at the beginning…."

It was nearly two hours before Dr. Hanson met with the Fentons.

"He's a remarkable boy. Very resilient. It was quite a tale he spun, ghosts chasing him…it's hard to sort out what was caused by imagination, medication or reality."

"I'm sure whatever Danny told you is the truth, Dr. Hanson." Maddie pressed.

"Oh, I believe him! I've studied the paranormal for many years now, I've just never encountered it first hand before."

"Then you've never been to our house." Jazz groaned.

"Well, I would love to come and visit next time I'm in Amity Park and get caught up on the latest in spectral phenomenon." Dr. Hanson smiled.

"You're welcome anytime! Can we see Danny now?" Maddie asked.

"Danny would like to speak to his father right now," Dr. Hanson said, leading Jack down the hall with him towards Danny's room. "Jack, Danny is feeling very bad about this whole thing. He feels that he hurt you by having the dreams that showed you as his persecutor."

"What? Dr. Hanson, I may be a bumbler and rush in where others won't, but I would never hurt Danny! Why would he…"

"Ask him Jack. Let him get this off his chest. If he's any example of your skills at Fatherhood, then you're a better Dad than most." Dr. Hanson smiled, leaving Jack at the doorway to Danny's room.

"Dad?" Danny's tired voice called as Jack entered the softly lit room. Night was falling and the last faint rays of sunlight were peeping through the curtains on the far side of the room.

"Danny? Dr. Hanson said you wanted to talk to me. What's on your mind, son?" Jack asked uneasily as he sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"What I said, back in the office a few days ago….about everything being your fault because you liked ghosts more than me? Dad, I…"

"Please Danny, don't. You weren't yourself. You…" Jack tried to comfort his son, but it didn't help.

"They made me have dreams. Horrible dreams and the last one showed you as the guy who was causing it all."

"What did I do?" Jack asked quietly, watching his son squirm uncomfortably in the bed. Danny closed his eyes.

"He said I was misbegotten, unwanted, unloved…" Danny choked on his words as a flood of buried emotions came to the surface. "You never wanted me, did you?"

Jack's face showed the heartbreak he felt. He jumped from his chair and scooped his crying son in his arms as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hush, Danny. My sweet Danny! How could you ever, who could make you think such things! I love you so much…I can't ever find the words. Oh, son how could you think for a moment you were not wanted?"

"The dreams…so…real!" Danny cried softly onto the orange spandex jumpsuit.

Jack cradled his son and rocked him gently in his arms as he spoke quietly to him.

"Danny, listen to me. Your mother and I love you sister and when we found out two years later you were coming, we were ecstatic! Another Fenton on the way! I remember the night you were born, it was an amazing night, every star in the sky seemed to come out just to see you into this world. Your mom says that you rode the stars down that night to us!" Jack seemed a million miles away as Danny listened to the story. "I remember holding you, you were so tiny! Still are, you little runt!" Jack tweaked his son's nose.

"Dad!" Danny protested, having stopped crying.

"Ok, ok…where was I, oh yeah you were so tiny! Danny, I hope someday when you're grown you will hold your son in your arms and feel what I felt that night, what I'm feeling now. My son. No one else can say that."

"I know someone who's trying." Danny said under his breath.

"You caught your first ghost today! I'm so proud of you, son! You risked your life to save your sister. I wish I'd been there with you."

"You were Dad, in here where it counts." Danny stifled a yawn as he pointed to his heart. He handed the Fenton Thermos he still clung to off to Jack. "Will you take care of this for me? I'm so…sleepy." Jack just smiled as he put his son back into bed.

Danny felt the weight of the unfounded guilt slip off his shoulders as he closed his eyes and fell into a restful sleep. Jack couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he took a tissue from the box on the table next to the bed and wiped the remaining tears from his son's face. He removed his black PVC gloves and stroked Danny's dark hair gently.

"No one is ever going to hurt you again Danny. Especially not this guy. He's going in the special containment field with anyone else who dares harm a hair on your head." Jack promised as he carefully took the thermos from Danny's arms and slipped quietly out of the room.

Jack went down to the waiting room where everyone was waiting anxiously for him.

"He's fine. He's sleeping now. Poor little fella, he's just worn out."

"He gave you the thermos?" Maddie wondered, spotting the Fenton Thermos he carried. Jack nodded.

"Our little boy is growing up, Maddie. Maybe I should take Tucker and Sam home in Jazz's car and you can drive back with Jazz and Danny in the morning."

"Dad, I don't think my car is your style, or size!" Jazz blushed at the thought of her father trying to fit behind the wheel of her car. "I'm fine now and I'll drive Tucker and Sam home now so you two can stay with Danny."

"Honey, are you sure? You've been through quite a shock." Maddie asked, taking her daughter's hand in hers.

"I think the drive will do me good. You need to be here with Danny in case he needs you. C'mon you two sidekicks, let's hit the road before your folks get up in arms and remember we went to the mall and the movies today." Jazz gave her parents each a peck on the cheek before leaving with Tucker and Sam.

"I'd rather stay here with Danny." Sam lamented.

"I'd rather stay anywhere but here, I hate hospitals!" Tucker cringed.

Chapter XVI

They drove home Sunday morning and Danny spent the day resting. Tucker and Sam came over late in the afternoon to bring Danny up to date with all the goings on a school since he was still under suspension but they also brought homework assignments to keep him busy. Dr. Hanson promised to speak with Mr. Lancer on Monday about reinstating Danny to school. Danny wished the good doctor lots of luck in his effort!

Monday came and Jazz was off to school. Danny decided to knuckle down and tackle some homework, but by midmorning he was dozing off at his desk unaware of the visitor downstairs.

"Vlad! What are you doing here?" Maddie said with shock as two dozen pink roses were thrust into her arms.

"Maddie!" Vlad sighed as he entered the house, "I just had to come and see you and Jack! I am so devastated by what happened to poor Daniel, I could just die!"

"Jack's gone out for awhile. The flowers are beautiful!"

"Not half as beautiful as you, my dear! How is little Daniel?" Vlad asked with genuine concern as he sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Fine. No worse for wear I guess. He's working on catching up for school. We hope with Dr. Hanson's help to get him back into school tomorrow. I think the sooner the better we put this horrible mess behind us."

"I am so sorry for what transpired! I feel such a weight of responsibility for the whole episode! I was wondering, would it be alright if I took Daniel out to lunch today? I would so like to speak with him and apologize to the boy myself." Vlad almost pleaded.

"That's very nice, I…"

"Fine! I'll send my car around for him, say noon? Well be at the Berkshire Club, so have him dress?" Vlad said kissing Maddie's hand and rushing off before she could say no.

"Danny! Hurry or you'll be late!" Maddie called up the stairs. A few moments later, Danny trudged down stairs, wearing his double breasted gray suit with a red tie and dress shoes.

"Do I have to go? I'm still really tired and…" Danny tried to beg off the invitation from Masters. He knew it was going to be a battle of wills more than a pleasant luncheon.

"Now Danny, that's no way to act. Vlad was only looking out for your best interest." Maddie said straightening his tie as the doorbell rang.

Jack answered it to find a well dressed chauffer standing on the doorstep.

"I'm here to pick up Mr. Fenton." the man said with a bland tone.

"I thought you were here to pick up Danny…oh, that Mr. Fenton!" Jack roared, slapping the driver on the back.

"Humorous." the driver said drolly. He spotted Danny and motioned for him to come with him as Jack still roared over his joke.

The Berkshire Club was an exclusive restaurant in downtown Amity Park that catered to the business and well to do set. The old Victorian townhouse had been restored a few years ago and became the city hot spot for the upper crust.

The driver opened the back door of the black stretch limo and Danny got out and gulped. He slowly made his way up the steep granite steps to the doorman who tipped his hat and opened the door for him. Inside the old mansion was dark with rich mahogany and dark marble.

It gave Danny the creeps.

"May I help you, young man?" the maitre de asked.

"Uh, yes, I'm having lunch with Mr. Vlad Masters. I'm…"

"Oh yes, young Mr. Fenton! This way sir!" the man said brightly as he took Danny to the back of the lobby and into a small private elevator that chugged it's way up to the top floor. Across from the elevator were two heavy wood sliding doors. The maitre de knocked lightly and the doors slid open to reveal Masters with a Cheshire Cat grin.

"Daniel! You're so prompt! So like your mother! Come in! Jenkins tell the staff they may serve any time."

"Yes, Mr. Masters." the doors closed behind Danny. He looked about at the roomy, but intimate room with it's heavily Victorian decorations.

"This use to be the attic, but I keep it for my private dining area and office when I'm in the area, oh you didn't know I own the Berkshire Club? Just a little hobby of mine!"

"Let's cut the snappy patter and get down to it," Danny said with impatience. "Why am I here?"

"The first thing I will teach you, dear boy, are manners. Now, I've taken the time and trouble to have you spend the afternoon with me, the least you can do is be civil. I would so hate to tell your dear parents that you were truant in behavior towards an old and dear friend." Vlad smiled as he sat down at the beautifully set table and motioned for Danny to take the seat across from him. Danny did reluctantly as a team of waiters entered the room with a pushcart loaded with silver plated serving dishes.

"I hope you don't mind that I ordered ahead? Makes things go much easier."

"No, not at all. I suppose I should be use to you running my life by now." Danny said with a sweet, but sharp tone to his voice that made Vlad want to hit the boy with a bolt of Ecto Energy, but he suppressed his feelings.

"Now, can we have lunch and be pleasant?" Vlad asked with a dark look in his eyes.

"I'll try if you try." Danny returned the look with equal darkness.

They did make their way through a very nice meal without any arguments. Vlad managed for once to be a diplomat, keeping to general subjects of school and hobbies. The meal was much heavier than Danny was use to and it made him feel tired, to which Vlad swore a blue streak that it was the food and no added ingredients.

The staff quickly cleared the table and left the two alone.

"May I please be excused from the table?" Danny asked formally.

"But of course, my boy. Feel free to move about." Vlad leaned back in the chair and watched Danny walk over to the large rose window with it's myriad of stained glass chips that spilled into the room from the reflection of the sun. Danny seemed mesmerized by the colors as his body was bathed in them.

"A beautiful piece of art, isn't it? It was worth the money to have it restored. I always liked kaleidoscopes as a child, I still collect them today."

"Seems a shame to keep this to yourself, up here, alone." Danny said, not meaning be hurtful.

Vlad sighed.

"Yes, well that is one thing I am, selfish. I can't help myself."

"Whatever happened to that ring that kept Wadsworth in human form and the amulet Jeremy had?" Danny asked, turning to look at Masters.

"I have them in a safe place in my lab back in Wisconsin. They won't trouble you again, unless I have need for them to."

A shiver went up Danny's spine at the dark tone of his voice towards him.

"Is this the part where you offer me everything I could ever want in exchange for my becoming your slave?" Danny asked in a matter of fact tone as he strolled over to one of the bookcases and took out a book of Edgar Allen Poe. "We're reading him in English class now. I like his work."

"Really? That's a first edition. _Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque _published in 1840. Let me guess, your class is reading Fall of the House of Usher?"

"That and other stuff. He deals a lot with madness." Danny said quietly as he flipped absently through the pages.

"I want you to have that, Daniel. Take the book with you."

"But it's a first edition, it must cost…"

"Cost is nothing to me. Take it home and read it. You'll learn what true madness is, unless this last little adventure of ours taught you anything which our adventures usually don't." Vlad said deliberately. Danny closed the book softly and held it close to his chest.

"You really can't stand the fact that Jack Fenton has a son and you don't, can you?" Danny's voice was quiet, provoking yet wondering.

"Can you blame me? The man is an utter oaf!" Vlad said with deep sourness.

Danny strolled back to the rose window and studied the details of the glass. Vlad smiled and got up quietly from the table and went over to Danny. Standing behind him, he put his hands firmly on the boys' small shoulders.

"I would give you the world at a moments notice. I could teach you in a fraction of the time it's taking you to learn what little you've learned."

"I've done alright." Danny said plainly, still looking at the glass.

"You've done nothing!" Vlad said, not in a mean way, but more painful for him. He turned Danny around to face him, taking his chin in his hand to pull the boy's brilliant blue eyes to face his own, more world weary ones. "You can barely manage what you do know. I told you before I don't want to see you bumble your way through life trying, I want you to accomplish and you can only do that with my help."

"With you pulling the strings. The master puppeteer at work!" Danny said sadly, pulling away from Vlad.

"Is it such a bad thing? My wanting to guide you?"

"Guide, no. Own, yes. I'm not for sale. You're one of the richest men in the world, go buy a son. Any number of kids would be thrilled to call you father." The hurt was audible in Danny's voice and it hardened Vlad's heart.

"I want you. No other. Daniel, we are two of a kind! We need each other. You need me to teach you and I need you to be my eyes and carry out my wishes. Together, we could rule the Ghost Zone! We can bring peace to it."

Danny remained silent.

"Then, I would have to become evil and I'm not. See, that's the whole problem Vlad! I can't turn my back on everything I've learned in life. What you do is wrong. You use your powers to gain which takes away from people who have worked hard for what they have. I can't and I won't do that, to people or ghosts."

"And what, my dear boy do those people and ghosts give a fig about you, hmmm? I didn't think so. Why protect those who don't care for you? Why stick your scrawny little neck out for anyone but yourself? Answer me that if you can, Daniel." Vlad said with much smugness as he stood in the light of the window and faced Danny's perplexed look.

Danny couldn't answer. Vlad had him over a barrel on that point. Why was he doing all this? What purpose was it serving him? He changed tactics.

"Let me put a proposal to you." Danny said with a smile.

"Very well." Vlad nodded in agreement.

"I have an idea…"

Vlad clapped his hands together and spoke with glee.

"Oh Daniel! I'm so happy for you! Your first idea! Congratulations, my boy and best wishes for many more to come!"

Danny let out a low, guttural growl from deep in his throat as his eyes flashed a green warning.

"Don't even think of it!" Vlad warned as Danny's eyes changed back to blue. "Now, this idea of yours?"

"Yeah, right. Instead of me becoming evil, why don't you become good? Help me in my fight to keep people safe from evil ghosts?"

Vlad laughed.

"Oh, my boy! My sweet, sweet Daniel! That is hilarious! Me, helping those poor saps out there? I'd sooner kiss the Box Ghost!"

"I can arrange that." Danny grinned wickedly.

Vlad caught his breath and wiped the tear from his eye. He put an arm around Danny's shoulder as he walked him to the door.

"You are a treasure, Daniel. I must warn you, and take heed for this is a solemn warning, I will have you for my son. I will not be swayed in my pursuit of you and your mother. Someday, you will call me father." his voice was dark and foreboding as he opened the sliding doors. Danny left his side and went to the elevator.

"Thank you for the lunch and the book. This is a nice place you have." Danny said honestly.

"Feel free to come by anytime you wish. I will leave instructions with the staff to allow you access, or just drop in after one of your Danny Phantom patrols. The choice is yours, but not for much longer, my child."

Danny got into the ancient elevator and closed the ornate iron door in front of him.

"You forget Vlad, I'm Danny Fenton. Jack Fenton's son."

With that, Danny pushed the button and went down in the elevator.

Vlad closed the sliding doors behind him and went to his oak desk and pounded his fist down in anger.

"No Daniel. This game of ours is far from over. You may be Jack Fenton's son by birth, but you're mine by his folly and mine you will be!"

Vlad opened a drawer in the desk and took out a long thin black lacquer box. He opened it to reveal four more of the Dream Disruptors.

"I promised you I would not use these again, but then when have I ever kept my promises to you? I shall break you, my boy with small deliberate steps I shall shatter that happy little world you live in, then I, Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius shall rebuild your world in my image. Yes Daniel, you shall be my puppet. You see, you already are and don't realize it!"

Chapter XVII

Danny sat quietly in Mr. Lancer's office Wednesday morning during the first period of school. Lancer didn't have a class and use it to get caught up on his duties as Vice-Principal. Jack and Maddie were seated on either side of Danny.

"Well, Mr. And Mrs. Fenton, I did speak at length with Dr. Hanson the other day and he is convinced that Danny is well enough to rejoin his classmates, although I have my doubts."

"Mr. Lancer, Danny has been through a terrible ordeal at the hands of unscrupulous ghosts. It's not fair to punish him for something that wasn't his fault. If anyone is to blame, it's me for not paying more attention to my son's needs." Jack said, putting an arm around Danny's shoulders.

"But Mr. Fenton, am I to believe that a ghost…"

"Two ghosts, maybe more. We're not sure." Maddie broke in to correct.

"Two or more ghost are to have caused Danny here to have a nervous breakdown? To have become temporarily insane and now he's perfectly fine?" Lancer asked with great doubt.

"Dr. Hanson is one of the finest psychologist in the field. If he says Danny is fine, that's good enough for us." Jack explained proudly.

"Danny, you must be terribly behind in your schoolwork. It will take some time to get caught up."

"No sir. I'm all caught up. Tucker and Sam have helped me over the last few days to do that," Danny said earnestly, digging into his back pack and pulling out a stack of papers. "Let's see, here's my History homework, Math, English…all my classes, up to date." Danny let the Poe first edition slip out by accident and he caught it before it hit the floor.

"What's this?" Lancer asked as Danny handed the book to him. "A first edition Poe collection, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque  this is a very collectable and valuable book. Where did you get this?"

"Mr. Masters gave it to me. Sort of his way of apologizing for what happened, considering it was his fault for bringing that Wadsworth character here in the first place." Danny muttered.

"Danny! Vlad was taken is just as much as all of us! He's a very generous man and a dear, dear friend. I don't ever want to hear you talk about him in that manner again." Jack chastised his son.

"This is amazing! Last time I saw this portfolio was in college. You are indeed a fortunate boy to have such a friend as Mr. Masters!" Lancer said flipping through the book before handing it back to Danny.

"Yes, Mr. Lancer." Danny said quietly as the end of first period bell rang.

"Well, I suppose we can give Danny a try. See how he does today, though I'm still not sure about this." Lancer said, rising from his desk. "Danny's second period class is with me, so I'll keep a close eye on him and instruct his other teachers to do the same."

"Thank you, Mr. Lancer. I'm sure Danny will be fine, won't you sweetie?" Maddie smiled, giving Danny a peck on the cheek.

"Mom! Not in front of my teacher!" Danny groaned. Lancer rolled his eyes with a smile.

"He seems normal enough to me. Come along Danny, we don't want to be late for class."

"I wonder how Fenton's making out at the nuthouse?" Kwan asked Dash.

"Probably in a straight jacket by now! Ha! I always knew those Fenton's were screwy!" Dash sneered as Tucker and Sam entered the classroom and sat down. They made no mention to anyone about Danny's release. After telling Danny what had gone on at school while he was gone, he decided to get give the two football players a taste of his unique ghostly revenge.

"How's your boyfriend, Manson? Banging his head against the wall up at the nuthouse? Maybe you should go up there and hold his hand, oh that's right! He's in a straight jacket! Ha!"

Sam gave the bully a nasty look, but said nothing. Tucker grabbed her by the arm as Mr. Lancer walked in, followed by Danny.

An audible gasp and hushed voiced filled the room as Danny stood next to Lancer who put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Class, listen up. Mr. Fenton has returned to class. Yes, he's fine now. Take your seat, Mr. Fenton."

Danny sat down in the desk across from Dash.

"How did they let a nutcase like you out, Fentonioroni?" Dash asked with contempt, looking at Danny as if he was last weeks garbage.

"Mr. Baxter! Danny has been certified as sane as you, then again, maybe more. The head Wren Cliff spoke with me at length and assured me that Mr. Fenton could return to school and he has, so there will be no more discussion on this. Now, your reading assignment was The Fall Of The House of Usher, by Poe. Kwan, what did you think of it?"

"Uh, how can I be expected to read a whole book in one night? I had football practice!"

Lancer looked like he was going to be sick.

"Kwan, the book you have is a collection of Poe's short stories and poems. The Fall of The House of Usher is a short story in that book, not the whole book! Days like this make me wish I'd been a plumber!"

"It was just too creepy! I had nightmares!" Paulina offered with a shiver. "Then again, Sam Manson gives me nightmares too!" she added.

Everyone laughed, including Tucker and Danny. She gave them both a sharp warning look.

"Mr. Fenton. The story deals with a man loosing his grip on reality."

Mr. Lancer started only to be cut off by Dash.

"Right up your alley, Fentonzo!"

"Mr. Baxter, one more remark like that and you may miss this afternoon's football practice and I don't thin the coach will be very happy when I tell him why."

"But, I'm not the only one who thinks it! Everyone in school says he's a nut!"

"You and Kwan started the ball rolling! The two of you had it all over school!" Tucker lashed out.

"Enough of this conversation! Back to class. Danny, what did you think of the story?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"It was kinda hard to understand at times." he said simply.

"Yes, the language of the nineteenth century can get bogged down a bit in it's use of floral speech. Would you care to read a passage for us from that wonderful book Mr. Masters gave you?"

"Me?" Danny asked dumbfounded, but then smiled as sinister smile that Sam rolled her eyes at and Tucker grinned with a clenched fist of power for. "Yes, Mr. Lancer, I'd love to." Danny pulled out the book and went to the front of the class, flipping through the pages as Mr. Lancer explained about Danny's book being a first edition. Lancer bent over an pointed out the part Danny was to read.

Danny curled a little smile on his face.

Sam shook her head and whispered,

"No."

"Yes." was Danny's equally soft reply. Hiding his hand behind the book, he pointed to the light switch and let a quick blast of Ecto-Energy off his fingertip, just enough to short out the lights. Another closed the blinds in the room.

No one noticed Danny do this as he began to read with deep emotion and feeling.

I became aware of a distinct, hollow, metallic, and clangorous, yet apparently muffled reverberation. Completely unnerved, I leaped to my feet ; but the measured rocking movement of Usher was undisturbed. I rushed to the chair in which he sat. His eyes were bent fixedly before him, and throughout his whole countenance there reigned a stony rigidity. But, as I placed my hand upon his shoulder, there came a strong shudder over his whole person ; a sickly smile quivered about his lips ; and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried, and gibbering murmur, as if unconscious of my presence. Bending closely over him, I at length drank in the hideous import of his words.

"Not hear it ? - yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long - long - long - many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it - yet I dared not - oh, pity me, miserable wretch that I am ! - I dared not - I dared not speak ! We have put her living in the tomb ! Said I not that my senses were acute ? I now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them - many, many days ago - yet I dared not - I dared not speak ! And now - to-night - Ethelred - ha ! ha ! - the breaking of the hermit's door, and the death-cry of the dragon, and the clangor of the shield ! - say, rather, the rending of her coffin, and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison, and her struggles within the coppered archway of the vault ! Oh whither shall I fly ? Will she not be here anon ? Is she not hurrying to upbraid me for my haste ? Have I not heard her footstep on the stair ? Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart ? Madman !" - here he sprang furiously to his feet, and shrieked out his syllables, as if in the effort he were giving up his soul - " Madman ! I tell you that she now stands without the door ! "

As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance there had been found the potency of a spell - the huge antique panels to which the speaker pointed, threw slowly back, upon the instant, their ponderous and ebony jaws. It was the work of the rushing gust - but then without those doors there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. .

Many of the girls in the class were squirming uncomfortably as Danny read the passage by the glow of a small flashlight he had in his back pack. Danny finally reached Kwan and Dash, who were also looking rather uneasy by Danny's theatrical reading. Mr. Lancer sat at his desk, mesmerized by Danny's new found theatrical skill.

Danny stood in front of the desks of the two jocks and read the last portion of the story.

For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold - then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.

Danny then bore down on them, letting his blue eyes transform into glowing green with an evil smile that sent the two boys falling out of their seats and screaming towards the door. It took several moments for them to get the door open as they spilled out on top of each other in the hallway and took off like a shot down the corridor, screaming all the way. Teacher's heads popped out of every door as Danny quickly made the lights come back on and the shades reopen without any notice of his classmates.

"Mr. Fenton! That was remarkable! Why haven't you come out for the Casper High Drama Club?" Mr. Lancer remarked as Sam and Tucker applauded, then the whole class joined in, enjoying the fact that he was able to scare the two bigger boys with just a story.

"Just some cheap theatrics. Glowing contacts, nothing really." Danny said modestly as the bell rang for the next class. Everyone in class smiled at Danny as they left.

Paulina gave Danny as sly smile.

"You are one crazy dude, Danny."

Danny's heart melted as he put his books away and headed out of the room with Tucker and Sam.

"Did you hear that? She said my name!" Danny sighed in a puppy love glow.

"Oh big woo! She said my name and you don't see me melting through the floor…by the way, Danny? You're melting through the floor." Sam groaned as she and Tucker stood in front of Danny and pulled his half intangible body from sinking into the school basement.

She couldn't help but smile along with Tucker as they both said,

"Welcome home, Danny!"

The End


End file.
